Shrum v. Southern Farm Casualty Insurance

This decision infers negligence from the existence of some “soapy looking” substance on the bathroom floor. No proof was presented on how it got there — the appellant said in deposition that he did not know — or how long it had been on the floor. Yet, the majority reverses a summary judgment in favor of Southern Farm.

This runs counter to longstanding case law:

[T] he presence of a foreign or slick substance which causes a slip and fall is not alone sufficient to prove negligence. It must be proved that the substance was negligently placed there or allowed to remain.

Diebold v. Vanderstek, 364…