Date: Fri 12-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Stew-Leonard-lawsuit

Full Text:

Stew Leonard Is Sued For $5 Million

BRIDGEPORT (AP) -- A New York woman is suing the Stew Leonard's dairy store in

Norwalk for $5 million, claiming she was seriously injured when a pallet of

mulch chips fell on her.

But attorneys for the store say the woman's physical problems pre-dated her

store visit.

Testimony in a negligence lawsuit brought by Marie Falco began Monday in US

District Court. Stewart J. Leonard and the various corporations that run his

Norwalk store are named as defendants.

Ms Falco's daughter, Lisa Santangelo, said her mother's health has

deteriorated since she was knocked to the floor by the falling pallet.

"Basically, she's gotten worse and worse," Ms Santangelo told the eight-member

jury.

Marie Falco, 50, of Hartsdale, N.Y., was seated in a wheelchair in the

courtroom. Her lawyers claim she suffered a fractured back, a herniated and

bulging disc as well as neurological injuries in the June 12, 1993, accident.

Last May, doctors surgically implanted a morphine pump in Ms Falco's stomach

to help relieve her constant pain.

Attorney James Coyne, who is representing Mr Leonard and his corporations,

declined comment on the case Monday. But in court documents, the store's

lawyers said they will call medical witnesses who will say Ms Falco's problems

stem from preexisting conditions, including various exploratory surgeries done

to correct a prior stomach condition and a 1988 fall in a movie theater.