BUCHOLTZ ET AL.
v.
CITY OF JACKSONVILLE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A municipality was sued for negligence when a visitor slipped on worn, smooth steps at City Hall. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of the complaint, holding that the natural wearing of steps through regular use, without more, does not constitute actionable negligence.
A municipality is not liable for negligence merely because steps have naturally become worn smooth and slick from constant public use. Absent allegations of affirmative negligent conduct or dangerous conditions beyond the natural consequence of ordinary use, such bare allegations are legally insufficient to support a negligence claim.
“It is a matter of common knowledge that constant use of steps, although properly constructed of proper material, will cause such steps to become slick and smooth.”
Establishes that naturally worn smooth steps are a foreseeable result of ordinary use and do not constitute a dangerous condition imposing liability on the property owner.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe plaintiff alleged she was injured when she slipped and fell on the steps leading into Jacksonville's City Hall after transacting business. The ste…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Judicial Notice cases and more on FLexlaw
MATHEWS, Justice.
This case involves the liability of a municipality because of the condition of steps leading into the City Hall. The declaration alleged negligence because the City “permitted treads of said steps to be worn slick and smooth”.
A motion to dismiss the amended complaint was granted on the ground that the allegation of the declaration was insufficient as a matter of law to impute negligence to the defendant City. Final judgment was entered, and this appeal is prosecuted from such judgment.
The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the City Hall' in the City of Jacksonville is an old building and that most of the citizens of Jacksonville having business with the municipality, transact such business at the City Hall. Electric light bills, water bills and taxes are paid in the City Hall. The City Council chamber and the offices of the City Commission, Tax Assessor, Treasurer, Tax Collector, etc. are located in the City Hall. The main entrance to the building is by means of the steps, mentioned in the declaration, leading from the Forsythe Street entrance onto the ground floor of the City Hall.
The declaration contains no allegation of any positive act on the part of the City. There is no allegation that the steps had recently been washed or polished and were slick and smooth by reason thereof. There is no allegation that the steps were improperly constructed or that the material used in the construction was not the proper kind of material, or that there was a hole in the steps, or that said steps were broken or had any hidden defect which caused the plaintiff-appellant to fall. There is nothing more than the bare allegation that the plaintiff, after having transacted her business, departed from the building by means of the steps and that the defendant had allowed and permitted the treads of said steps to be “worn slick and smooth” and that she did not know of the condition of the said steps; that by reason of the condition of said steps, she slipped and fell and, therefore, the City should pay.
It is a matter of common knowledge that constant use of steps, although properly constructed of proper material, will cause such steps to become slick and smooth. The steps leading into the Supreme Court Building and most of the floors in such building are slick and smooth. The same can be said with reference to multiplied thousands of public buildings throughout the State of Florida. The hardwood floors or marble floors in countless homes, hotels and other buildings throughout Florida are smooth and slick. It might be possible for public authorities, owners of buildings and homes to cause such steps and floors not to be slick and smooth by the application of tar or other material, or the sprinkling of sand or gravel thereon, or permitting sufficient dirt to accumulate to destroy the smoothness, but no such obligation or liability is placed upon those having charge of such building.
This case is a good illustration of the thought that every time someone is injured, someone else should pay for the injury. Before there can be a recovery for an injury of this kind, the allegations must show some negligence on the part of the defendant. In this case the complaint falls far short of any allegations imputing negligence to the defendant.
Affirmed.
ROBERTS, C. J., TERRELL, J., and GIBLIN, Associate Justice, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Maas Bros., Inc. v. Bishop, 204 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967)…ucted. Merely permitting the metal strip to become slippery, appellant contends, was as a matter of law not a breach of such duty. In support of this argument appellant strongly urges the applicability of Bucholtz v. City of Jacksonville, Fla.1954, 72 So. 2d 52. In Bucholtz the Florida Supreme Court, in affirming the dismissal of a complaint for its failure to state a cause of action, held that the bare allegation that the City had permitted the treads of the steps outside of its city hall to become worn s…
-
Williams v. Holland, 205 So. 2d 682 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968)…series of cases holding that the right to recover in a slip and fall case requires more than a showing simply that the surface upon which the injured fell was slick, smooth or wet. Exemplary of this line of cases is Bucholtz v. City of Jacksonville, 72 So. 2d 52, 53 (Fla.1954). We agree with this proposition advanced by appellants insofar as it goes. However, the contention of the plaintiffs goes beyond a showing of the mere slick, smooth or wet condition of the vestibule floor on which she fell. Rather, pl…
-
Winer v. Walo, Inc., 105 So. 2d 376 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958)…er the conditions in which it was used by the defendant? It was of course necessary for the plaintiff to show that his injury was proximately caused by the defendant’s use of this material. In the case of Bucholtz v. City of Jacksonville, Fla.1954, 72 So. 2d 52, 53, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed a final judgment based upon an order granting a motion to dismiss a complaint in which negligence was predicated upon the allegation that the city permitted the treads of the steps into the city hall to be…