12/29/2011
Robert Miller v. Bally’s Casino
In Miller, plaintiff tripped and fell while stepping off of a people mover at Bally’s Casino. As a result of his fall, plaintiff sustained a comminuted fracture of his right femur requiring surgery and a lengthy hospitalization. In order to support his claim against both Bally’s and Schindler Elevator, plaintiff retained an expert engineer to opine that the people mover was defective in its design and warning and that the landing area was too short making it a tripping hazard.

At the close of discovery, Reena Shah moved to bar plaintiff’s expert’s report as a net opinion and for summary judgment arguing that plaintiff could not prove that Bally’s was negligent or that the people mover was dangerous or defective. Judge Nelson Johnson agreed with Bally’s arguments and granted Ms. Shah’s motion to bar the expert report and then granted summary judmgent.