$330K against a movie theater after an exterminator slipped on a freshly mopped floor

A Washington County jury in Jonesborough awarded $550,000 to a 60-year-old exterminator who slipped on a just-mopped floor at a movie theater in Johnson City. The jury put 60% of the fault on the theater, 30% on the cleaning contractor and 10% on the exterminator. The court entered judgment against the theater for $330,000, the figure shown here.

The exterminator arrived in July 2013, before the theater opened, to spray for bugs. A third-party maintenance firm had just finished mopping. He did not realize the floor was wet, walked behind the concession stand, and fell. He tore his rotator cuff, had surgery ten days later and returned to full duty four months after that with a 4% impairment rating. His $40,150 in medical bills were paid by workers’ compensation.

He argued that the theater brought in the cleaning firm without screening or supervising its work. The firm had keys to the building, but theater management knew only one of its workers by first name and otherwise did not communicate with the crew. The theater brought the cleaning firm into the case as a third-party defendant, but it was never found or served and did not take part at trial. The jury could still assign it fault.

After a two-day trial the exterminator asked for $600,000 and conceded 10% of the fault. The jury’s $550,000 award was reduced by his share and the cleaning firm’s, leaving the theater’s 60%. We have not found an appeal.