February 13, 2019

DSB successfully obtained a complete defendant’s verdict on liability, at binding private arbitration, on behalf of a homeowner. Plaintiff alleged that our client’s negligence caused her to fall down a flight of stairs leading to the home’s basement. The single arbitrator, a retired Judge, concluded that the cause of plaintiff’s fall was the fact that she mistakenly stepped into the wrong doorway. Instead of stepping onto flooring at the same level as the hallway, plaintiff stepped into the stairs leading to the basement. On cross-examination, plaintiff conceded that she was very familiar with the layout of the home, including the separate and distinct doors to the first-floor bathroom and basement. She also acknowledged that nothing obscured her vision from being able to see what was in front of her when she mistakenly opened the basement door. The Judge fully adopted our legal arguments, in rendering an award in favor of our client dismissing the complaint.