Every morning, a janitor at a gym cleaned all of the workout…
Every morning, a janitor at a gym cleaned all of the workout equipment, including the treadmills, using a disinfectant spray. One morning, the janitor was especially tired because he had been up late the night before. As a result, he was careless with the disinfectant spray, using too much and then not wiping it off adequately. A woman stepped onto one of the treadmills right after the janitor had cleaned it and turned it on. As the running belt started to move, the woman’s foot slipped because of the excess disinfectant spray. She fell off the treadmill and broke her nose. The woman, who was a master whiskey taster, was scheduled to judge a whiskey competition that evening. However, due to her broken nose, the woman was unable to adequately smell or taste the whiskeys. The competition was cancelled and the liquor company that hosted it lost thousands of dollars. The liquor company sued the gym under a theory of vicarious liability to recover its losses. Will the liquor company prevail?