MSZL&M North Florida Office Secures Summary Judgment for National Client on Premises Liability Case

Florida attorney Samantha S. Loveland, obtained summary judgment in a premises liability claim against our client, a warehouse restaurant supplier. Plaintiff claimed she sustained serious injuries tripping over a damaged parking bumper while loading items she bought at the store into her car. Plaintiff claimed our client failed to warn her of dangerous conditions and failed to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition. Our client maintained its premises was in a reasonably safe condition and the parking bumper was an open and obvious condition about which Plaintiff should have been aware.

At deposition, Plaintiff testified she had stepped over the parking bumper several times immediately prior to her fall. Plaintiff also testified that at the time of her fall she was holding a large box which obstructed her view. Ultimately, Plaintiff could not identify what caused her fall other than the parking bumper itself. Ms. Loveland argued the open and obvious nature of the parking bumper negated our client’s duty to warn and this was enough to grant summary judgment in our clients favor because the duties to warn and maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition were not mutually exclusive. Plaintiff vigorously opposed the Motion—arguing the parking bumper, while open and obvious, was damaged and not maintained in a reasonably safe condition, therefore precluding summary judgment on the issue.

After hearing argument of counsel for all parties and considering the evidence presented, the Court agreed with Ms. Loveland’s arguments and granted Summary Judgment for our client effectively dismiss the lawsuit.