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Shuder v. McDonald's Corporation

859 F.2d 266 (1988)

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Shuder v. McDonald’s Corporation

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
859 F.2d 266 (1988)

Facts

Elizabeth F. Shuder (plaintiff) and her husband, Pennsylvania residents, visited a McDonald’s restaurant in Virginia, where Mrs. Shuder fell and injured herself in the restaurant’s parking lot. The couple returned to Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Shuder was treated for her injuries. Mrs. Shuder sued McDonald’s Virginia (defendant), the local franchisee, in federal district court in Virginia, alleging that McDonald’s Virginia had failed to maintain its parking lot in a safe condition. The district court applied Virginia’s contributory-negligence law, and Mrs. Shuder won a jury verdict that was affirmed by the court of appeals. Mrs. Shuder subsequently sued McDonald’s (defendant), the national franchisor, in federal district court in Pennsylvania. Mr. Shuder (plaintiff) joined this lawsuit, asserting a claim for loss of consortium. The couple alleged that the parking lot was unsafe due to its design and construction. The court applied Pennsylvania’s contributory negligence law, pursuant to which a jury found that Mrs. Shuder was 26 percent negligent and returned a verdict for the Shuders. The district court denied McDonald’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and McDonald’s appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Greenberg, J.)

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