Maytham Al-Taie v. Seven C's Building Maintenance, Inc. ( 2023 )

USCA4 Appeal: 21-2034 Doc: 22 Filed: 06/22/2023 Pg: 1 of 3
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 21-2034
MAYTHAM AL-TAIE,
Plaintiff – Appellant,
v.
SEVEN C’S BUILDING MAITENANCE, INC.,
Defendant – Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Timothy J. Sullivan, Magistrate Judge. (8:20−cv−00298−TJS)
Submitted: March 21, 2023 Decided: June 22, 2023
Before HARRIS, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ON BRIEF: Ryan P. Richie, WILSON & PARLETT, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, for
Appellant. Michael L. Pivor, KIERNAN TREBACH LLP, Washington, D.C., for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Maytham Al-Taie appeals a district court order granting summary judgment to
Seven C’s Building Maintenance, Inc. (“SCBM”) in Al-Taie’s personal injury action. On
appeal, Al-Taie argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the
ground that Al-Taie was contributorily negligent as a matter of law when he walked out
onto a marble floor that was being mopped by employees of SCBM and then slipped and
fell on the wet floor.
We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, and “view the
evidence and all reasonable inferences from it in the light most favorable to the non-moving
party.” Lee Graham Shopping Ctr., LLC v. Estate of Kirsch, 777 F.3d 678, 681 (4th Cir.
2015) (cleaned up). “Summary judgment is appropriate only when ‘the movant shows that
there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment
as a matter of law.’” Chapman v. Oakland Living Ctr., Inc., 48 F.4th 222, 228 (4th Cir.
2022) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)).
Under the governing law of the District of Columbia, a plaintiff’s contributory
negligence acts as a complete defense to the defendant’s liability. Dennis v. Jones, 928
A.2d 672, 676 (D.C. 2007). The burden is on the defendant to “establish, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the plaintiff failed to exercise reasonable care,” Poyner
v. Loftus, 694 A.2d 69, 71 (D.C. 1997), by acting “with the prudence of an ordinary
reasonable person under the circumstances,” Queen v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.,
842 F.2d 476, 479 (D.C. Cir. 1988) (applying District of Columbia law). Here, the district
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court found that the evidentiary record compelled the conclusion that Al-Taie failed to
exercise reasonable care under this objective standard.
We have reviewed the record and the parties’ briefs and agree with the district court.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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