Problem
Case: Collins v. Heartland Home Goods
Collins v. Heartland Home Goods is a case where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the jury's finding and the jury's award of damages. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the highest court in the Pennsylvania state judicial system.
Collins was shopping in a home goods store in York, Pennsylvania when he fell on a wet floor that had been recently mopped and left to air dry without any warning signs placed nearby. He sustained a broken leg and a wrist injury requiring medical treatment and physical therapy.
Collins sued the home goods store for failing to warn of the wet floor and potential fall hazard. The jury found the Defendant store liable and awarded Collins damages of $22,000.
• Is Collins v. Heartland Home Goods mandatory authority in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland? Explain why or why not.
• Using analogical reasoning, explain how the facts of the Collins opinion could be used to support Mrs. Smith's case.
Mrs. Smith's case provided below.
Mabel Smith, 80, was shopping at a supermarket with her daughter in Montgomery County, Maryland. She walked slowly, with her daughter holding her arm. While walking down an aisle, Mrs. Smith and her daughter maneuvered around a supermarket employee who was restocking fruit from a stack of boxes placed in the middle of the aisle. Despite her attempts to walk around the boxes, Mrs. Smith's left foot caught on the corner of the bottom, box and she fell to the floor, twisting her ankle and hitting the side of the fruit stand with her head. Because she appeared disoriented, an ambulance was called to transport Mrs. Smith to the hospital. At the hospital emergency department, Mrs. Smith was diagnosed with a concussion and a sprained ankle. Mrs. Smith was admitted to the hospital, and she remained there for two days.