West Virginia Record

WINFIELD - A lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores East Inc. for injuries allegedly sustained at one of its stores has been dismissed.

On Aug. 22, Walmart, by its counsel, came for a hearing previously set by the court via the order to show cause entered on July 23. In the show cause order, the court directed the plaintiffs and/or their counsel to appear at the hearing to show cause for why the plaintiffs had not responded to the discovery served on them by Walmart on Oct. 30, 2012.

The show cause order was served on the plaintiffs and their counsel, but, despite this, neither the plaintiffs nor their counsel appeared for the hearing, according to the dismissal order filed Sept. 10 in Putnam Circuit Court.

"The court notes that it is the court's understanding that counsel for the plaintiffs is undergoing treatment for a serious illness. However, as the show cause order was served directly on plaintiffs themselves and clearly directed that the plaintiffs were to attend the hearing, the court finds that failing to respond to discovery and subsequently failing to attend any hearing held herein, the plaintiffs have failed to prosecute their claims," the dismissal order states.

The court ordered that the case be dismissed without prejudice and the civil action to be stricken from the court's docket.

On Aug. 10, 2010, Frances Marcum was shopping at Walmart when she slipped on debris or a substance on the floor of the store and became injured, according to a complaint filed Aug. 9, 2012, in Putnam Circuit Court.

Marcum claimed as a result of the contact with the debris or other substance on the floor, she suffered a fall, which required medical care.

As a result of the fall, Marcum suffered pain, mental anguish and other residual damages, including scaring and disfigurement, according to the suit.

Marcum claimed Walmart was negligent in having foreign substances or debris on the floor in their customer service area that were dangerous and likely to cause injury to customers.

Walmart knew or should have known that customers would come into contact with the debris and injury would result from contact, according to the suit.

Marcum and her husband, Harry Marcum, were seeking compensatory damages. They were represented by James M. Casey.

The defendants were represented by Tanya Hunt Handley and John L. MacCorkle of MacCorkle Lavender PLLC.

The case was assigned to Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers.

Putnam Circuit Court case number: 12-C-252