JOSEPHINE HILGENHURST, APPELLANT,
v.
KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPER, INC. AND TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF AMERICA, APPELLEES
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The court held that the theater operator exercised reasonable care and established no breach of duty regarding crowd control, affirming the trial court's judgment.
[1] A proprietor of a place of public entertainment owes invitees a duty to exercise due care to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, commensurate with the a…
[2] The duty to supervise patrons in a place of public entertainment includes preventing injuries where the risk was known or should have been known to the operator through t…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA theater patron was injured when knocked down while walking to her seat. The patron sued the theater operator, alleging failure to maintain crowd con…
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BASKIN, Judge.
In accordance with our finding that appellees exercised reasonable care and that no breach of duty, Warner v. Florida Jai Alai, Inc., 221 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969), was established by appellees’ failure to maintain crowd control at a theater with unreserved seating, we affirm the Final Judgment for Defendants entered by the trial court when it granted motions for directed verdict and vacated the verdict returned by the jury. The evidence discloses no actual or constructive knowledge, which might have arisen from prior conduct, of risk to the theater patron who was knocked down and injured at Gusman Hall as she walked to her seat to watch a silent movie.
The operator of a place of public entertainment owes his invitees the duty to use due care to maintain his premises in a reasonably safe condition commensurate with the activities conducted thereon. Central Theatres, Inc. v. Wilkinson, 1944, 154 Fla. 589, 18 So. 2d 755; Wells v. Palm Beach Kennel Club, 1948, 160 Fla. 502, 35 So. 2d 720. This includes a duty to exercise reasonable care to supervise the patrons for the purpose of preventing injuries the risk of which was known to the operator or by the exercise of reasonable care should have been known to him. Central Theatres, Inc., v. Wilkinson, supra, and Sparks v. Ober, Fla.App. 1968, 192 So. 2d 81. The duty to supervise does not, however, require the operator to furnish each patron with an usher or to guard against the risk created by a specific patron, unless the operator has actual or constructive knowledge of the need for specific supervision and a reasonable opportunity to exercise it. Elmore v. Sones, Fla.App. 1962,140 So. 2d 59; Wometco Theatres Corporation v. Rath, Fla.App. 1960, 123 So. 2d 472. Otherwise, the operator would be in the position of an insuror [sic] of the safety of his patrons.
Warner v. Florida Jai Alai, Inc., supra at 778.
The court correctly set aside the verdict and entered judgment, Panoz v. Gulf and Bay Corp. of Sarasota, 208 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 2d DCA), cert. denied, 218 So. 2d 166 (Fla. 1968).
Affirmed.
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Citator
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Regala Dennis v. City OF Tampa, 581 So. 2d 1345 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)…dy, 443 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Elmore v. Sones, 140 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962); Kolosky v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 472 So. 2d 891 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), review denied, 482 So. 2d 350 (Fla.1986); Hilgenhurst v. Knight-Ridder Newspaper, Inc., 400 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 411 So. 2d 382 (Fla.1981); Warner v. Florida Jai Alai, Inc., 221 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969), cert. discharged, 235 So. 2d 294 (Fla.1970); see generally 41 Fla.Jur.2d Premises Liability § 23 (1983). At least histori…
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Povido v. Amterre Dev., Inc., 404 So. 2d 800 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Hilgenhurst v. Knight-Ridder Newspaper, Inc., 400 So. 2d 523 (Fla.3d DCA 1981); Nemeth v. DeLauega, 354 So. 2d 418 (Fla.3d DCA 1978); Gottschalk v. Smith, 334 So. 2d 102 (Fla.3d DCA 1976), cert. denied, 341 So. 2d 1085 (Fla.1976).…
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Mendelsohn v. Calder Race Course, Inc., 405 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Hilgenhurst v. Knight-Ridder Newspaper, Inc., 400 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Nance v. James Archer Smith Hospital, Inc., 329 So. 2d 377 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), cert. denied, 339 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. 1976); Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company v. Ellis, 143 So. 2d 550 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962).…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Wells v. Palm Beach Kennel Club, 160 Fla. 502 (Fla. 1948)
- Warner v. Fla. JAI Alai, Inc., 221 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969)
- Sparks v. Ober, 192 So. 2d 81 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)
- Cent. Theatres, Inc. v. Henriette Wilkinson, 154 Fla. 589 (Fla. 1944)
- Gaye v. State, 140 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962)
- Wometco Theatres Corp. v. Rath, 123 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)
- Panoz v. Gulf & Bay Corp. of Sarasota, 208 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968)
- Jennings v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co., 218 So. 2d 166 (Fla. 1968)
- Lord v. Hodge, 218 So. 2d 166 (Fla. 1968)