A California woman is taking legal action against Costco, seeking more than $14 million in damages after a large display cabinet allegedly toppled onto her inside one of the wholesale chain’s stores, causing what she describes as devastating, life-altering injuries.
Sadie Novotny, a resident of Santa Rosa, California, filed her lawsuit on April 29, claiming that Costco acted negligently by failing to ensure safe conditions within its store, particularly in how merchandise was managed and displayed. Her complaint asserts that this negligence directly led to the injuries she suffered.
Initially brought before the California Superior Court for Alameda County, the case was transferred to the United States District Court for Northern California on June 5. According to public court filings, this move came at the request of Costco’s legal team.
What happened at Costco?
The lawsuit centers around an incident that occurred on March 22 while Novotny was shopping at a Costco location in Santa Rosa. She claims that without any warning, a heavy liquor cabinet floor model collapsed on top of her. The cabinet, according to the complaint, caused “multiple, permanent and catastrophic” injuries, including serious trauma to her head and brain.
A Costco incident report included in the legal filings notes that Novotny and her husband were shopping for a liquor cabinet when the floor model unexpectedly fell onto her. She attempted to catch the cabinet and managed to push it away, but she reported immediate pain in her right shoulder, forearm, hand, fingers, and lower back. The injuries, she alleges, have had long-term impacts on her health, mobility, and daily life.
Legal claims: Negligence, premises liability, product liability
Novotny’s lawsuit includes multiple legal claims: general negligence, premises liability, and product liability.
Under premises liability, businesses and property owners can be held legally responsible for injuries that occur due to unsafe conditions on their property. In this case, the suit contends that Costco failed to maintain a safe shopping environment and didn’t take reasonable precautions to prevent harm to customers.
The product liability aspect of the case points to the display itself, which the complaint says was inherently unsafe. The cabinet had “thin legs” and was placed atop a “worn wooden pallet,” creating an unstable and dangerous condition, the lawsuit alleges. Novotny argues that this made the product a safety hazard and that Costco should have recognized and addressed the risk.
Further, she alleges that the retailer failed to properly train or supervise its staff. According to the complaint, this lack of oversight contributed to the merchandise being displayed in a manner that posed a significant danger to customers.
$14M+ in damages sought
Novotny is requesting a total of $14,110,000 in damages to compensate for the various ways the incident has affected her life. These damages include:
- $5 million for emotional distress
- $5 million for pain, suffering, and inconvenience
- $2 million for future medical expenses
- $2 million for loss of future earning capacity
- $50,000 for medical expenses already incurred
- $50,000 for lost wages to date
- $10,000 for the loss of household services she can no longer perform
The lawsuit paints a picture of a woman whose life was upended in an instant by what she claims was a preventable incident caused by poor safety practices and inadequate staff oversight.
As the case proceeds through federal court, it will likely raise broader questions about how large retailers like Costco ensure — or fail to ensure — customer safety, particularly when it comes to heavy merchandise displays on the showroom floor.
