Andler v. Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc.

Brandi Andler (plaintiff) and her boyfriend, Eric Heitzer, went to a country-music festival in Ohio. In connection with the festival, Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc. (Clear Channel) (defendant) operated a campground nearby. One evening, Andler and Heitzer visited some friends who were staying at the campground. While there, Andler and Heitzer decided to walk around the campground listening to music played by other campers. As Andler and Heitzer walked to the bathrooms, Andler fell into a hole with grass growing out of it, breaking both of her feet. Andler sued Clear Channel for damages. At an initial trial, a jury ruled in Andler’s favor, but the ruling was overturned on appeal due to an issue with jury instructions. At the second trial, Andler argued that she was not able to see the hole because the grass growing in the hole had grown tall enough to appear level with the grass surrounding the hole. Vincent James testified that he had observed the hole with difficulty during the day and had alerted Clear Channel staff the day before Andler fell. Clear Channel asserted that it had not breached a duty to Andler because she held the status of a licensee rather than an invitee and because the hole she fell into was an open and obvious danger. Clear Channel moved unsuccessfully for a judgment as a matter of law. A jury ruled in Andler’s favor, though she was awarded less damages than in the first trial, causing her to appeal. The jury determined that the hole was not an open and obvious danger. Clear Channel cross-appealed the district court’s ruling that Andler’s legal status was an invitee and that her suit was not barred by the open-and-obvious doctrine.