DAVID CHAVEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT OF FLORIDA, INC., WALT DISNEY WORLD HOSPITALITY & RECREATION CORPORATION, N/K/A WALT DISNEY WORLD CO., APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2013-02-22
No. 5D11-1846
ORFINGER, C.J., SAWAYA and ■ COHEN, JJ., concur.
108 So. 3d 1124 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2013) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

David Chavez appealed summary judgment in favor of McDonald's Restaurant following a slip-and-fall injury on the restaurant's premises. The Florida appellate court reversed in part and remanded, holding that Chavez was owed a duty of care as a business invitee and that material factual issues precluded summary judgment.


Holding

All premises owners owe a duty of care to their invitees to maintain the premises in a safe condition, and material issues of fact regarding whether a negligent condition existed generally preclude summary judgment. A Frye hearing is not necessary for expert testimony based on training and experience rather than novel scientific techniques, but expert opinions must be based on facts or inferences supported by the record.


Headnotes

[1] A business owner owes a duty of reasonable care to invitees to maintain the premises in a safe condition.

[2] Material issues of fact regarding a dangerous condition on premises generally preclude summary judgment.

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Key Quotes

“It is undisputed that under Florida law, all premises owners owe a duty to their invitees to exercise reasonable care to maintain their premises in a safe condition.”

Establishes the fundamental duty of care owed by premises owners to business invitees

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Facts & Procedural History

Chavez, a business invitee, slipped and fell on McDonald's Restaurant's premises and filed a personal injury action seeking damages. The trial court g…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

David Chavez appeals the final summary judgment rendered in favor of McDonald’s Restaurant of Florida, Inc., the defendant in the personal injury action Chavez filed claiming damages from his slip and fall on McDonald’s Restaurant’s premises. We conclude that Chavez, a business invitee on the premises of McDonald’s Restaurant, was owed a duty of care and that material issues of fact exist that prohibit entry of summary judgment in McDonald’s Restaurant’s favor.1 See Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So.2d 315, 330 (Fla.2001) (“It is undisputed that under Florida law, all premises owners owe a duty to their invitees to exercise reasonable care to maintain their premises in a safe condition.”); McCain v. Fla. Pow *1126 er Corp., 593 So.2d 500 (Fla.1992); Wolford, 861 So.2d at 456-57; Cold Storage Cafe, Inc. v. Barone, 779 So.2d 371, 373 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (“The issue of whether a negligent condition exists on premises generally involves, as here, a disputed material fact which precludes summary judgment.”); Craig v. Gate Maritime Props., Inc., 631 So.2d 375, 377 n. 1 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (“The issue of whether a negligent condition existed on premises generally involves disputes of material fact which will preclude summary judgment.”); Garcia v. City of Hialeah, 550 So.2d 1158 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (holding that the duty of care owed includes the duty to provide reasonably safe ingress and egress).

We affirm the trial court’s in li-mine ruling regarding the testimony of George Zimmerman, but note that a Frye2 hearing is not necessary if he testifies based on his training and experience. See Marsh v. Valyou, 977 So.2d 543 (Fla.2007) (holding that Frye applies only to opinions based on new or novel scientific techniques and does not apply to pure opinion testimony based on training and experience). We also note that an expert’s opinion must be based on facts or inferences supported by the record. See Arkin Constr. Co. v. Simpkins, 99 So.2d 557, 561 (Fla.1957) (“[T]he conclusion or opinion of an expert witness based on facts or inferences not supported by the evidence in a cause has no evidential value. It is equally well settled that the basis for a conclusion cannot be deduced or inferred from the conclusion itself. The opinion of the expert cannot constitute proof of the existence of the facts necessary to the support of the opinion.”); see also Schindler Elevator Corp. v. Carvalho, 895 So.2d 1103 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005).

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; REMANDED.

ORFINGER, C.J., SAWAYA and ■ COHEN, JJ., concur.


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