HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals recently reversed a summary judgment ruling in favor of a pub that was sued by a man claiming his chair collapsed.
Court records show Calvin Blake filed a premises liability suit against Sybarite Pubs, doing business as Public House Heights, alleging that the pub failed to discover, correct, and warn of the chair’s dangerous condition.
According to the 14th Court’s April 6 opinion, Blake went to steak night at the pub. He sat down in a plastic chair and placed an order. As he was waiting for his meal, one of the legs on his chair broke without warning and he fell to the ground.
Court records show the pub moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted.
On appeal, the justices considered whether the movant satisfied its burden of conclusively negating at least one essential element of the non-movant’s claim for premises liability.
“Because we have determined that the movant did not satisfy that burden, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand the case to that court for additional proceedings,” the opinion states. “We conclude that the trial court erred by granting the Pub’s motion, and that the error probably led to the rendition of an improper judgment.
“The trial court’s judgment is reversed and the case is remanded to that court for additional proceedings.”
Case No. 14-22-00293-CV