Section 13.9 Missouri Approved Instruction

• Library: Tort Law 2016

5. (§13.9) Missouri Approved Instruction

The applicable verdict-directing instruction for invitees is MAI 22.03 [1995 Revision]:

Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe:

First, there was (here describe substance on floor that caused the fall) on the floor of defendant’s store and as a result the floor was not reasonably safe, and

Second, defendant knew or by using ordinary care could have known of this condition, and

Third, defendant failed to use ordinary care to [remove it] [barricade it] [warn of it], and

Fourth, as a direct result of such failure, plaintiff sustained damage.

In reviewing this instruction, readers should note that a jury can find liability on the part of a defendant who did not know of the defective condition if the jury could reasonably find from the evidence that the defendant could have known of the condition by using ordinary care. Although the question of constructive knowledge is normally one for a jury’s resolution, ordinarily the evidence must be such that a jury could find that the defect existed for a sufficient length of time so that a defendant not only could have discovered the condition but could have had an opportunity to remedy the condition. See:

· Robinson v. Great Atl. & Pac.Tea Co., 147 S.W.2d 648 (Mo. 1941)

· Varner v.

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