Shadonna Hale (Of Counsel-Baltimore) and Steve Willner (Associate-Baltimore) prevailed on a summary judgment motion that disposed of a D.C. personal injury case where the plaintiff’s demand was $250,000. The plaintiff claimed that she had attended a new product launch at a national athletic shoe store in Georgetown when she slipped and fell on untreated black ice on the sidewalk abutting the store, sustaining serious personal injuries, including a torn rotator cuff tendon that required surgery. The plaintiff sued the firm’s clients, the retail store and its landlord. Shadonna and Steve moved for summary judgment on the grounds that private citizens have no standing to sue landowners for injuries sustained as a result of a violation of D.C.’s snow removal statute; only the D.C. government can bring such claims. The plaintiff filed an opposition arguing that liability existed because the shoe store had made a “special use” of the sidewalk by using it to line up shoppers waiting to attend the product launch. Shadonna and Steve filed a reply memorandum debunking the assertion that the special use rule applied to the case. The court agreed and issued a memorandum opinion and order adopting much of the reasoning argued by Shadonna and Steve in their submissions, and entered judgment in favor of the defendants.