On April 1, 2009, plaintiff Monika Leiterman, 55, a traveling notary, slipped on a substance and fell in the food court of a Costco Wholesale store located in the city of Industry. She fractured her right knee in the fall. Leiterman sued Costco Wholesale Corp., alleging that the defendant was negligent for failing to properly maintain the area, creating a dangerous condition. Leiterman claimed she slipped on a small puddle of liquid soap, which likely came from a customer’s shopping cart that had been parked in the area. Her counsel noted that the surveillance video showed a portion of the customer’s shopping cart being moved a few minutes before Leiterman fell, although the video did not show Leiterman’s fall or any spill. Leiterman also claimed that several Costco employees walked by the area after the shopping cart was moved, just prior to her fall, and that none of the employees cleaned up the spill. Costco denied it had any prior notice of the spill or that its inspection program was below industry standards. It also claimed that its food court employees constantly clean the food court, so the spill must have occurred just seconds before Leiterman slipped. Thus, defense counsel argued that Leiterman had no knowledge of how the spill occurred nor could she prove how long the spill had been there., Leiterman sustained a patella fracture of her right knee and was taken to a hospital, where she underwent open reduction and internal fixation. Leiterman made a good recovery and claimed no loss of earnings. However, she claimed that she may develop post-traumatic arthritis in her knee and may eventually require a total knee replacement. Defense counsel contended that Leiterman made a good recovery and argued that she would not be a candidate for total knee replacement.