A jury in Hays County, Texas, has decided that a guest who fell off a pool deck that partially surrounded an above-ground pool was negligent and not entitled to any damages from the homeowners.
Facts & Allegations
Jeff Haese, a self-employed homebuilder, was at a party at the home of his friends James and Jeanene Berry, in Driftwood, Texas. At about midnight, Mr. Haese and another guest decided to go swimming in the oval, above-ground pool that the Berrys had in their backyard.
Mr. Haese contended that he and the other guest were walking on a deck that half-encircled the pool to the pool ladder; the deck, he said, ended about two feet past the ladder.
While the other person was descending the ladder into the pool, Mr. Haese said, he accidentally stepped off the deck, which was about four feet high at that location. He said that he landed on one of the diagonal aluminum braces that framed the pool, and that he sustained multiple fractured ribs.
Mr. Haese sued the Berrys for premises liability. He said he had not seen the pool in the daytime since before the deck had been added and, therefore, that he had not realized that the deck did not go all the way around. He argued that it was unreasonably dangerous that the deck did not go all the way around; that the deck ended abruptly and without warning; that the deck ended near the ladder; that the deck did not have a railing; and that the ladder was on the less well-lit side of the pool (the side away from the house).
Mr. Haese sought $34,500 in past medical bills, $100,000 for past physical pain and mental anguish, $30,000 in future physical pain and mental anguish, $40,000 in past lost earnings, $500 for past disfigurement, $25,000 for past physical impairment, and $500 for future physical impairment.
The defense denied any unreasonably dangerous condition. It contended that Mr. Haese was aware that the deck did not go all the way around the pool and that that there was no bench or railing on the far side. The defense disputed Mr. Haese's claim that he only had seen the pool in daytime hours when it did not have the deck. Counsel presented evidence that Mr. Haese had been in the backyard during daylight sometime after the deck had been added and before his accident.
Result
The jury found only Mr. Haese negligent.
The case is Haese v. Berry, No. 10-0008 (Tex. Hays Co. Feb. 3, 2016). Plaintiff Attorney(s): Guy Gorlick; Wayne Wright Injury Lawyers; San Antonio, TX, for Jeff Haese; Natalie Karam; Wayne Wright Injury Lawyers; San Antonio, TX, for Jeff Haese; Harold T. McCall; Wayne Wright Injury Lawyers; San Antonio, TX, for Jeff Haese; Defense Attorney(s): Kenneth R. (Kent) Chambers; Conroe, TX, for James Berry, Jeanene Berry.
FC&S Legal Comment
This report is based on information that was provided by defense counsel. Plaintiff's counsel did not respond to the reporter's phone calls. To see the full detailed report from our ALM partner, VerdictSearch, please click here.
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Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].