After a two-week trial in King County Superior Court, the jury returned a defense verdict in Beauchou v. Belltown Inn, et al. on July 3, 2025. Smith Freed Eberhard represented Defendant Belltown Inn, with Joy Lee and Cliff Wilson acting as lead trial counsel and Paige Kolbrick assisting as second chair. In this premises liability case, Plaintiff sued Belltown Inn, the historic hotel in the Belltown neighborhood of downtown Seattle, after she fell and broke her ankle in a parking lot located in a nearby apartment complex, the Moda Apartments. The night before she fell, the Plaintiff checked into Belltown Inn as a guest, and was presented with two off-site parking options: an open air parking lot and a secure garage located in the Moda Apartments. Plaintiff chose to park in the garage under the Moda Apartments, and she parked and spent the night at the Belltown Inn without incident. However, she checked out of the hotel in the morning and as she was walking down the stairwell located in the Moda Parking Garage, she tripped on the last step and broke her ankle. She admitted that, as she descended the stairs, she was carrying a roller suitcase, a purse, a long raincoat, and a travel coffee mug in her arms, and that she could not see the steps in front of her. Plaintiff sued the owners and managers of the apartment complex, as well as Belltown Inn under a theory of premises liability and failure to warn of a dangerous condition. Plaintiff settled with and dismissed the owner and property manager of the parking garage, and proceeded to trial against Belltown Inn alone. Belltown Inn argued that: 1) they were not liable for premises liability because they did not own or control the parking garage; and 2) they were not liable for failure to warn of a dangerous condition because Plaintiff had a duty to use reasonable care while walking down the stairwell, which was not an unreasonable hazard. At trial, medical specials were unchallenged, but the parties disputed liability and general damages. At closing, the Plaintiff asked for nearly $700,000. After a half-day of deliberations, the jury returned a defense verdict.  Special shoutout to Rory Cosgrove and Nicholas Carlson from Carney Badley Spellman for their consulting and expertise on potential appellate issues.