116
C
ASE: 15
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Sources
The case brie ng above contains excerpts and direct extractions from the sources noted
below that have been combined with the author's own expert legal input. The case has
been condensed and formatted from its original content for purposes of this workbook.
Medley v. Home Depot, Inc., 252 Ga. App. 398, 555 S.E.2d 736 (2001).
Court of Appeals of Georgia
September 18, 2001. Opinion written by the Honorable Presiding Justice Marion T. Pope, Jr.
With over 2,200 stores,
The Home Depot, Inc. is
the worlds largest home
improvement specialty
retailer in the U.S.
With respect to keeping the aisles safe, Home Depot's storewide
policy requires that department supervisors patrol the aisles to make
sure they are clear. Andrew Attaway, the department manager, testi-
ed that on the incident date, there were ve aisles in the electrical
department of Home Depot. Four employees were working in the ve
aisles. Attaway stated that he inspected the area in which Ms. Medley
fell within ve minutes before her fall and had not seen any oil. When
noti ed of her fall, Attaway alleged he was about 20 yards away from
Ms. Medley's location.
Attaway also testi ed as to the teens' presence in the store. He
stated that the teens regularly came into the store on Friday a er-
noons and "messed things up." He indicated that the kids had spilled
things previously, and that both Hester and Home Depot knew that
the teens might spill substances that might be hazardous to shoppers.
Ms. Medley argued that Home Depot did not follow its own poli-
cies in failing to more closely monitor the teens, and Home Depot
knew that the non-shoppers had previously spilled items on the oor.
For Evaluation Purposes Only