MSZL&M SECURES SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR NATIONAL RETAILER ON NOTICE ISSUE IN SLIP AND FALL

(December 2018) Allison Heim, an associate in our Tampa, Florida office successfully moved for summary judgment on behalf of our client, a national clothing retailer. The case arose out of a slip-and-fall in the client’s store resulting in multiple injuries, surgery, and a verdict potential well into six figures. The incident was caught on our client’s video surveillance system but did not explicitly establish the source of the subject ice and water which Plaintiff claims was the cause of her fall. MZSL&M argued the store had no actual or constructive knowledge of the existence of the ice and water based on the video and by distinguishing existing case law regarding frozen substances to show there was no indication of where the substance originated or of its condition at the time it was deposited on the floor. The trial court agreed with MZSL&M and granted summary judgment.

The Third District Court of Appeals heard oral argument on both issues and affirmed summary judgment, per curium, in favor of our client based on both the video evidence and the lack of evidence showing the condition of the substance at the time it was deposited on the floor.