GM 520 Business Torts Assignment
Alan Kay

Mae Tom brought suit against the S.S. Kresge Co. after she slipped and fell on the floor while shopping at one of the chain’s Arizona department stores on Nov. 15, 1977. According to the case details, Tom stopped at Kresge’s to buy some wrapping paper. While walking down a store aisle, she slipped and fell on a clear liquid substance, suffering injuries for which she brought the action. The record reveals that the store was a self-service establishment that offered a variety of goods. The majority of goods sold were dry goods, but it is uncontradicted that the store had two counters from which soft drinks were available. Patrons were allowed to carry their drinks around the store while shopping. It appears that Tom fell in an aisle containing only dry goods. Neither she nor any Kresge’s employees, however, noticed any liquid on the floor prior to the fall. The manager, assistant manager and a sales clerk who were in the store on the day of the accident stated that they had no idea how the liquid substance reached the floor.
Tom argued that Kresge’s is liable for her injury because it occurred as a result of a condition created by the store’s "mode of operation." She also contends that the store should be held liable because the accident-causing condition had existed for such a length of time that in the exercise of ordinary care, Kresge’s should have known of the condition and taken action to remedy it. She also argued that there was enough evidence of careless general practices from which the jury could infer that the store was negligent despite having no notice of the particular condition that caused her injury.

The tort of negligence, which Tom based her case on, is based on the existence of a breaking of the duty of care owed by one person to another. A typical formula for evaluating negligence requires that a