Rebecca Young (Partner-Birmingham, AL) and Anna Saunders (Associate-Birmingham, AL) obtained summary judgment for a multinational financial services company in a case alleging significant bodily injuries suffered by a real estate agent during a property inspection at the client-owned property, and a claim by the agent’s wife for loss of consortium. The plaintiff agent fell when dilapidated brick stairs collapsed, throwing him forward where he landed on a hidden iron stake that ripped through his kneecap. The plaintiffs made a policy limits demand of $1,000,000, and alleged that the Wilson Elser client was aware of the dangerous condition, but failed to take action to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. The case was filed in one of the most notoriously difficult venues in Alabama state court, but Rebecca and Anna were able to have the case removed to federal court, which then required  the plaintiffs to pass the more strenuous hurdles of a heightened pleading standard and summary judgment sufficiency standards. The court’s decision was largely based on the federal standard for evidence sufficient to submit a case to a jury on the issue of “notice” and determined that the plaintiffs failed to meet this standard; the court entered a judgment as a matter of law for the defense because plaintiff could not demonstrate that the defendants had knowledge of the dangerous condition.