Upham v. Chateau De Ville Dinner Theatre, Inc.

This is an action in tort brought by the plaintiff to recover for personal injuries sustained when she tripped and fell while descending some steps in a dinner theatre owned and controlled by the defendant, Chateau de Ville Dinner Theatre, Inc. In her opening statement the plaintiff claimed that the defendant failed in its duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent injury to the theatre’s patrons. After the plaintiff’s opening, the defendant moved for a directed verdict. Relying on four of our cases, 1 the defendant argued that even if the facts outlined in the plaintiff’s opening were true,…