Applebaum v. Target Corp.

Applebaum bought a Schwinn mountain bike from Target. The bike had been previously returned. Applebaum claims, and Target denies, that a defective brake was repaired before the bike was resold. Minutes into her first ride, Applebaum fell off the bike at the bottom of a hill and injured her shoulder. A passerby came to Applebaum’s assistance, showed her that the rear brakes had clamped down on the tire, and released the brakes so that the bike could be wheeled back to Applebaum’s car. She returned the bike and claims she left it at Target. Target denies having the bike, which has not been located. She sued Target, alleging it negligently sold her a brake-defective bike. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the jury’s verdict, in favor of Target. The court rejected claims that the evidence did not support the verdict; the court mistakenly excluded, as hearsay, correspondence between a claims examiner and the company that repairs bikes for Target; and the court mistakenly limited the scope of an adverse inference instruction relating to the spoliation of evidence by the defendant. View "Applebaum v. Target Corp." on Justia Law