On March 10, 2014, plaintiff William Royce, 65, a retiree, was walking down the stairs of an aisle inside Laemmle Theatres’ Playhouse 7 movie theater, in Pasadena, when he tripped and fell. Royce claimed he injured his head and suffered brain damage. Royce sued the operator of the movie theater, Laemmle Theatres LLC. Royce alleged Laemmle Theatres failed to properly maintain the Playhouse 7 premises in a reasonably safe condition. Royce claimed that the theater’s lights were not bright enough for him to see where he was placing his feet as he walked down the stairs. Thus, he claimed that inadequate lighting caused him to trip and fall on the stairs, and caused him to strike his head on the arm rest of a chair. Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that inadequate lighting created a dangerous condition for patrons walking down the stairs in the dark theater. Defense counsel asserted that the subject lights were adequate and proper. Counsel also asserted that Royce was not being careful as he walked down the stairs and that Royce tripped because he was not paying attention to where he was stepping., Royce sustained blunt force trauma to his head as a result of the fall. As a result, he sustained a laceration to right side of his head and was rendered unconscious. He also sustained deep bruising to his chest and ribs, and abrasions to his upper and lower back. Royce was subsequently taken by ambulance to a local emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and received 13 sutures to close his head laceration. Royce claimed that he suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fall. He alleged that as a result, he suffers from residual humming in both of his ears with balance problems (tinnitus). He also alleged that he suffers from constant headaches, anxiety, depression, insomnia, memory loss, and irritability.