Kevin M. Mulvaney

Ericson Enger (Associate-Jackson, MS), assisted by Kevin Mulvaney (Partner-Detroit, MI), secured summary judgment for a third-party sample vendor for warehouse stores in a liability action in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas. The plaintiff was injured after slipping on an unidentified substance in a warehouse store, and filed suit against the store and our client, alleging negligence against both. Pursuant to the terms of an executed services agreement, our client only had a duty to clean the area within 10 feet of the sample stands operated in the store by its employees. During discovery, the plaintiff reached a settlement with the store in return for a voluntary dismissal. Shortly thereafter, Ericson filed a motion for summary judgment wherein the team contended that, given the terms of the services agreement between our client and store, the plaintiff could not demonstrate that our client owed her an independent duty of care, nor could she establish the violation of such a duty. Ericson and Kevin supported their arguments with the testimony of a prior employee of our client who measured the distance between the plaintiff's fall and the sample stand he was operating. Ultimately, the court granted the motion for summary judgment, which resulted in substantial savings for the client, that, unlike the store, opted to defend the action as opposed to settling.
 

Kevin Mulvaney (Partner-Detroit, MI) and Jeffery Sprys (Of Counsel-Detroit, MI) obtained summary judgment in the Wayne County Third Circuit Court, Detroit, Michigan, for Wilson Elser's client, an international retailer. In the amended complaint, the plaintiff alleges he was stabbed inside our client's Detroit store. The plaintiff allegedly visited the store to purchase shoes and speak with a store employee previously involved in a disagreement with the plaintiff's sister. The plaintiff and the store employee got into a physical altercation, resulting in the plaintiff being stabbed by the employee multiple times in the abdomen. The plaintiff underwent numerous surgeries at a local hospital and allegedly required extensive rehabilitation. The claims alleged in the complaint brought against Wilson Elser's client include negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent supervision and negligent infliction of emotional distress. During discovery, the plaintiff admitted to throwing the first punch and to having chased the employee throughout the store before sustaining any wounds. Kevin and Jeff argued that Michigan's Wrongful Conduct Rule bars recovery due to the plaintiff's culpability in starting the fight before being injured. They successfully maintained that the plaintiff's actions set in motion the foreseeable chain of events that led to his stabbing, with his actions the proximate cause of his injuries. The court concurred and dismissed the case, negating a last demand of $2.5 million.