PHILADELPHIA – Counsel for an area supermarket chain is seeking a negligence case filed against it to be transferred to Delaware County.
Nancy E. Campbell filed a motion for preliminary objections on Dec. 10, seeking transfer of plaintiffs Jennifer and Louis Kutlus’ lawsuit to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. Campbell argued because the Kutluses reside in Delaware County and the subject incident occurred there, along with the fact that the defendants conduct no business in Philadelphia County, that a court in Delaware County is a more appropriate venue to hear the case.
A hearing in this matter was set for Wednesday in Court chambers, at Philadelphia City Hall.
On Oct. 9, 2013, Kutlus was shopping in the Giant Food Store in Brookhaven, and walking with a full cart of groceries from the store out to the parking lot. Kutlus entered the pedestrian walkway when her cart hit a metal drainage grate near the walkway, she says.
The cart fell over and Kutlus fell onto the cart, causing her serious injuries, she says.
Kutlus’s suit alleges negligence on the part of the defendants in designing the parking lot and drainage grate, failure to comply with design standards and laws, and failure to inspect or maintain the parking lot area or warn customers or pedestrians of this alleged dangerous condition.
Kutlus allegedly suffered injuries to her neck, arms, ribs, back, legs, knees, right pelvis, back spasms, lumbalgia, thoracalgia, cervicalgia, ecchymosis, backaches, central disc bulge at her L4-L5 vertebrae, central herniation of the L5-S1 disc impinging the thecal sac and displacement of the thoracic intervertebral disc.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest, costs and delay damages, for negligence and loss of consortium (on behalf of Kutlus’s husband, Louis Kutlus) in this case.
The plaintiffs are represented by Stephen J. Devine of Kenneth R. Schuster & Associates, in Media.
The defendants are represented by Peter C. Kennedy and Francis X. Simpson of McGivney & Kluger, plus Campbell of Campbell Lipski & Dochney, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 150902296
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com