N1 City Mall held fully liable after Cape Town woman slips on melted ice cream
The Western Cape High Court has found N1 City Mall’s owners, managing agent and cleaning contractor jointly liable for damages suffered by a shopper who slipped on a substance resembling melted ice cream in 2014.
A Cape Town woman, E Louw, slipped on a substance in a passageway at N1 City Mall in Goodwood, a shopping centre in the Western Cape, on Workers' Day in 2014. The incident caused her to suffer damages, which led her to file a claim against the mall's owners, cleaning contractor Bidvest, and the mall's managing agent, Broll Property Group.
The Western Cape High Court recently ruled in Louw's favor, holding them fully liable for her damages. The court overturned a previous decision that had only found the mall owners and managing agent liable for 80% of the damages, while absolving Bidvest of responsibility. The appeal court found that the cleaning system in place was inadequate for a busy public holiday with increased pedestrian traffic, and that the defendants failed to demonstrate reasonable measures to keep the passageways safe for shoppers.
The court also rejected Louw's 20% contribution to the accident claim, finding that shoppers can expect walkways in a shopping centre to be reasonably safe.
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