Court upholds dismissal of woman's "slip and fall" claim against snow plow contractor

Sandra Thompson sued Kramere-Triad Management Groupd and a condominium association after she fell on an icy step.  She argued that the contractor who contracted to clear the condo parking lot was negligent.  Several months ago, her claim was dismissed, based on the Republican majority opinion in the Fultz case, holding that a contract to perform work does not create any duty to "third-parties" who aren't a party to the contract.  Fultz essentially created what defense attorneys called "contract immunity." The Republican majority opinion was widely disparaged and subsequently "explained" and over-ruled by the same Court in the Loweke decision.

In the interim between Fultz and Loweke, the trial judge dismissed Thompson's injury case.  She argued that after Loweke was decided, the case should be "reconsidered."   The Court of Appeals, in a typical Henry Saad opinion, held that no reconsideration was appropriate because Thompson's prior appeal established "the law of the case" and was decisive for her claims.  The Court held that the Loweke decision merely "explained" the Fultz decision and did not change the applicable law--a description that no one with a fifth-grade reading ability would reach after comparing the holdings.