PITTSBURGH – The case of a restaurant customer who claimed that a Pittsburgh restaurant’s negligence in using an unsafe chair on its premises seriously injured him has been settled.
On May 2, counsel for plaintiff Warren McGann filed a praecipe to mark the matter settled, discontinued and satisfied. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Warren McGann of Peoria, Ill. first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on June 19, 2017 versus Rut Management, LLC (doing business as the restaurant “Meat & Potatoes”) of Pittsburgh.
McGann was a customer of the restaurant on July 5, 2015, when he sat down in a chair which collapsed suddenly and without warning, the suit claims. McGann averred he suffered cervical sprain, dental injuries and teeth disfigurement, plus pain to his neck, back, right hip and right arm, among other injuries.
McGann claimed the restaurant was negligent in failing to inspect, maintain, repair or replace the chair, in addition to other particulars, such as providing a safe place for its customers.
In reply, the defendants countered that the plaintiff’s injuries pre-dated the complaint, and that the complaint failed to state a cause of action upon which relief could be granted, was barred by the Doctrine of Assumption of Risk, the Pennsylvania Comparative Negligence Act, the statute of limitations and a failure to mitigate the plaintiff’s own damages, among other rationales.
Prior to settlement and for a single count of negligence, the plaintiff was seeking damages in an amount in excess of the arbitration limits of Allegheny County, plus a trial by jury in this matter.
The plaintiff was represented by Jepthah M. Orstein of Ainsman Levine, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant was represented by Joseph M. Morelli of Bennett Bricklin & Saltzburg, also in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-17-008648
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com