HEDWIG KITCHEN, JOINED BY HER HUSBAND, B. F. KITCHEN
v.
CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
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The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a judgment for the City of Jacksonville, holding that a municipality is not liable for injuries sustained by a pedestrian who falls into a depression located in a parkway, as opposed to a street or sidewalk.
No, a municipality is not liable for injuries caused by a depression in a public parkway that is not part of a street or sidewalk.
“A municipality is not liable to a pedestrian injured by stepping into a depression or excavation situated, not in a street or sidewalk, but in a public parkway.”
This quote establishes the core legal principle applied by the court to deny liability.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe plaintiff, Hedwig Kitchen, was injured when she stepped into a hole or depression. The plaintiff's declaration alleged the hole was in River Road,…
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This is an appeal from a judgment for the defendant, City of Jacksonville, which involves the liability of a municipality for damages for personal injury sustained by a pedestrian stepping into a depression situated in a park or parkway. The declaration charges the hole or depression, which is claimed caused plaintiff’s injuries, to be located in a street in the city of Jacksonville known as River Road. The uncontradicted testimony of the plaintiff in support of the declaration, which was all the testimony submitted at the trial, places the hole or depression in a grass plot in the park or parkway which lies between the concrete bulkhead, along the easterly side of the river and the westerly concrete curbing of River Road. The park or parkway is not part of the street itself. A municipality is not liable to a pedestrian injured by stepping *622into a depression or excavation situated, not in a street or sidewalk, but in a public parkway. See City of Miami Beach v. Quinn, 5 So. (2nd) 593, 149 Fla. 326.
The remaining question of the variance between the declaration and proof becomes immaterial in view of the above rule.
Affirmed.
THOMAS, C.J., BUFORD and ADAMS, JJ., concur.
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Cauley v. City OF Jacksonville, 403 So. 2d 379 (Fla. 1981)…3 (1942) (depression in road surface); City of Tallahassee v. Fortune. But a municipality was held immune from damages caused by the negligent maintenance of the grass-covered area between a city sidewalk and street, Kitchen v. City of Jacksonville, 158 Fla. 621, 29 So. 2d 441 (1947), and an improperly functioning traffic signal, Avey v. City of West Palm Beach, 152 Fla. 717, 12 So. 2d 881 (1943). This Court recognized the inconsistency and confusion in Florida municipal sovereignty law in Hargrove v. Town…
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Beans v. Chohonis, 740 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)…act language ambiguous the trial court departed from the principle of contract interpretation which requires that the words used by the parties must be given their plain and ordinary meaning.3 See e.g. Rupp Hotel Operating Co. v. Down, 158 Fla. 541, 29 So. 2d 441 (1947); Pol v. Pol, 705 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), cert. denied, 717 So. 2d 536 (Fla.1998); Specialty Restaurants Corp. v. City of Miami 501 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). One looks to the dictionary for the plain and ordinary meaning of words. C…
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Leisure Resorts, Inc. v. The City OF W. Palm Beach, 864 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…he contract should be enforced as it reads. Id. If ambiguous, the words of the contract should be given their plain and ordinary meaning. Beans v. Chohonis, 740 So. 2d 65, 67 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (citing Rupp Hotel Operating Co. v. Donn, 158 Fla. 541, 29 So. 2d 441 (1947)). We first consider Article XXX, Section 5 and conclude that the trial court erred in ruling that the provision requires unanimous City Commission approval of any expansion of the docks and facilities. For three reasons, we conclude that the…
Previewing 3 of 19 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- City of Miami Beach v. Quinn, 5 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 1942)