According to the Court of Appeals, peanuts can present a danger.

Judge Richard Dinkins recently issued an opinion reinstating a case brought against locally based restaurant chain Logan’s Roadhouse over a slip-and-fall incident in the chain’s Antioch store. The alleged cause of the fall? Peanut shells.

As any patron knows, the floors of the decidedly low-key Logan’s Roadhouses are littered with the discarded shells of peanuts the restaurant provides as a snack while diners wait for open tables.

In 2005, Edith Freemon, who was dining at the restaurant in question, fell during her visit, suffering injuries as a result. Subsequently, Freemon filed a lawsuit claiming that the shells on the floor presented a dangerous condition and that the chain was negligent in allowing them to remain there.

In response, Logan’s filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that Freemon herself was “contributorily negligent” in the incident and that her negligence was at least equal to any claimed against Logan’s. Further, the company claimed that the presence of the shells was open and obvious to any and all patrons of the restaurant.

Judge Walter Kurtz granted the summary judgment motion, which has now been overturned.

In his opinion, Dinkins states:

“...the fact that the condition of the restaurant was known to Ms. Freemon and that she proceeded to her table, does not, in and of itself, constitute negligence on her part or absolve Logan’s from liability; the jury could determine that, despite the obvious presence of peanut shells on the floor, her actions were not negligent or that any negligence of Logan’s was greater than hers.”

The case was thus remanded for further proceedings with costs assessed to Logan’s.