LILIA SABUGO, APPELLANT,
v.
GDS DRUGS, INC., APPELLEE
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A customer slipped and fell on paper debris in a retail store. The Florida appellate court reversed summary judgment for the store, holding that evidence of a 3.5-hour gap since last floor inspection created a factual question about whether the store should have known of the hazard, precluding summary judgment.
Summary judgment for the defendant was improper. A business owner is liable for dangerous floor conditions created by servants, agents, or outsiders when the condition has existed long enough that the owner should have known of it and injury results to a business invitee. The 3.5-hour inspection gap created a factual question precluding summary judgment.
[1] A business owner is liable for injuries to a business invitee caused by a dangerous condition on the floor if the condition was created by an employee or an outsider and…
[2] Evidence that store employees had not inspected a floor for at least 3.5 hours prior to a slip and fall accident is sufficient to preclude summary judgment for the store…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“if a dangerous condition on the floor of a business establishment is created by (1) a servant or agent of the owner or (2) an outsider and the condition is one which has existed for sufficient length of time that the owner should have known of it, the owner is liable for any ensuing injuries proximately caused by the dangerous condition when sustained by a business invitee”
Establishes the controlling legal standard for store owner liability in slip-and-fall cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLilia Sabugo slipped and fell on paper debris on the floor of GDS Drugs, Inc. The evidence showed that store employees had not inspected the area wher…
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HUBBART, Judge.
The plaintiff (Lilia Sabuto) appeals from an adverse summary judgment entered in favor of the defendant (GDS Drugs, Inc.) in a slip and fall negligence action before the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. The law is clear that if a dangerous condition on the floor of a business establishment is created by (1) a servant or agent of the owner or (2) an outsider and the condition is one which has existed for sufficient length of time that the owner should have known of it, the owner is liable for any ensuing injuries proximately caused by the dangerous condition when sustained by a business invitee. Food Fair Stores, Inc. v. Trusell, 131 So. 2d 730, 732 (Fla.1961); Food Fair Stores of Florida, Inc. v. Patty, 109 So. 2d 5, 6 (Fla.1959); Carls Markets, Inc. v. Meyer, 69 So. 2d 789, 791-92 (Fla.1953); Haley v. Harvey Building, Inc., 168 So. 2d 330, 332 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964).
The evidence [viewed in a light most favorable to the non-moving party on the motion for summary judgment], establishes that the plaintiff while shopping at the defendant’s store slipped and fell on some paper debris on the floor of the store at a place where there had not been an inspection by store employees for at least 3V2 hours prior to the accident. This constitutes sufficient evidence to preclude the entry of a summary judgment for the defendant based on the following authorities: Ferguson v. Kress and Co., 253 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971); Matarese v. Leesburg Elks Club, 171 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965); Jenkins v. Brackin, 171 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965).
The summary judgment entered for the defendant in this case is reversed and the cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Md. Maint. Serv., Inc. v. Vittorio Palmieri and Bertha Palmieri, 559 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…uch a length of time that in exercise of ordinary care, the defendant should have known of the condition, Nance v. Winn Dixie, 436 So. 2d at 1076; Schmidt v. Bowl America Florida, Inc., 358 So. 2d 1385 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Sabugo v. GDS Drugs, Inc., 350 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Winn Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Williams, 264 So. 2d 862 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972), or by showing that the condition occurred with regularity and, consequently, was foreseeable, Fazio v. Dania Jai-Alai Palace, Inc., 473 So. 2d 1345 (Fla. 4th…
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Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Codomo, 390 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Schmidt v. Bowl America Florida, Inc., 358 So. 2d 1385 (Fla.4th DCA 1978); Tiny’s Liquors, Inc. v. Davis, 353 So. 2d 168 (Fla.3d DCA 1978); Sabugo v. GDS Drugs, Inc., 350 So. 2d 22 (Fla.3d DCA 1977).…
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Hirschenson v. Westway Inc., 728 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)…ompleted a month earlier. A one-month time interval would be sufficient to create constructive notice to the owner of the dangerous condition. See Johnson v. Treasure Coast Plaza, Ltd., 670 So. 2d 1199 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Sabugo v. GDS Drugs, Inc., 350 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Accordingly, we reverse the summary judgment and remand for further proceedings. Plaintiff argues that in addition to the foregoing, the owner is vicariously liable for the acts of Cuyahoga. Plaintiff relies on the proposition t…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Food Fair Stores, Inc. v. Phoebe C. Trusell et vir, 131 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 1961)
- Food Fair Stores OF Fla., Inc. v. Patty, 109 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1959)
- Carls Mkts., Inc. v. Meyer, 69 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 1953)
- Matarese v. Leesburg Elks Club, 171 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965)
- Jenkins v. Brackin, 171 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965)
- Ocie M. Haley v. Harvey Bldg., Inc., 168 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)
- Ferguson v. S. H. Kress & Co., 253 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971)