Problem
Facts: Stormi Waller is a 75-year old retired widow. Stormi lives in an independent living condo community in Baltimore, Maryland. The condo community, called Bedford Walk, is exclusively for residents over 55 years of age.
This past winter Stormi fell on the premises of the Food and Go grocery store in Baltimore. Stormi fell when she slipped on black ice that covered the ramp-up from the curb to the sidewalk leading into the store entrance.
As a result of the fall, Stormi broke her hip and her wrist (while trying to brace herself from the fall). Stormi's wrist healed after a few months. Stormi had hip surgery, but she has never fully recovered and cannot walk without the assistance of a walker. She has incurred major medical costs totaling approximately $300,000.
Stormi's fall occurred in the evening in a semi-lit area. Several employees were present in Food and Go when she fell. Another employee was in the parking lot gathering shopping cars at the time of the fall. This employee heard the fall, and assisted in getting paramedics and an ambulance for Stormi.
Stormi has sought Attorney Fine's counsel to advise her about the possibility of filing a negligence claim against Food and Go to cover the cost of her medical expenses.
Another paralegal conducted the intake interview with Stormi.
-----------Now that you have researched and analyzed the claim, Marty Fine wants you to initiate the claim by drafting the Complaint, using negligence as the underlying claim in Stormi's case.
A. Briefly describe the purpose of each section of the Complaint listed below and provide the information for that section in application to the client's case.
a. Statement of Jurisdiction,
b. Statement of Claim,
c. Potential Defense(s), and
d. Demand for Relief.
B. When describing the information for the statement of claim, include the necessary legal elements and brief concise statements of an application of the facts to those standards. Cite to relevant law(s). Remember to consider the jurisdiction of the law you cite, in relationship to its relevance and mandatory versus persuasive law for the jurisdiction that the Complaint will be filed.
C. Attorney Fine also wants you to anticipate the legal defenses Food and Go might assert in its Answer to the Complaint.