Elizabeth Rhodes and David Rhodes Missouri Cases

Elizabeth Rhodes was injured after tripping over a step at Kandlbinder, Inc.'s convenience store, leading to a jury verdict finding Kandlbinder 80% at fault for premises liability and awarding Rhodes $480,000. Kandlbinder appealed, arguing the trial court erred by giving a jury instruction that focused solely on the failure to remove the step, rather than offering a disjunctive instruction including failure to warn. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, holding that the instruction correctly stated Missouri law and was supported by substantial evidence that the step, even with a warning, was not reasonably safe and required removal.