On Monday, September 27, Starbucks Corporation settled with Mildred and Edwin Rodgers for $4.8 million. The slip and fall case against Starbucks had been in trial since September 15, 2010 before the Honorable Stephen J. Czuleger of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
On November 15, 2005, Mrs. Rodgers, then age 73, entered the Pasadena Starbucks through the back entrance. She tripped on a raised portion of the flooring and fractured her leg. Following her surgery, she suffered a stroke.
For 5 years, Starbucks denied any knowledge of the dangerous condition and denied responsibility for the trip and fall accident. During trial, a health inspector for the City of Pasadena testified that she cited Starbucks for that dangerous condition just one hour before Mrs. Rodgers fell. A witness for Starbucks’ contractor testified that he warned Starbucks seven months earlier that the flooring needed to be replaced but Starbucks chose to ignore the warning.
Mr. & Mrs. Rodgers, who have been married over 50 years, were represented by John Denove, a personal injury lawyer with Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett, and Randolph Gille. Judge Czuleger had ruled that there was sufficient evidence to allow the jury to decide if Starbucks acted with a conscious disregard of the safety of its customers. This ruling allowed the jury to determine if punitive damages should be awarded against the Seattle, Washington corporation.
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