CLARA MASTERS, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF RALPH A. MASTERS, AND CLARA MASTERS, INDIVIDUALLY, AND CHARLENE DURICK, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF HENRY J. DURICK AND CHARLENE DURICK, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLANTS,
v.
GROSVENOR S. WRIGHT AND SHELLY LYNN WRIGHT, HIS WIFE, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, ET AL., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the design and construction of the bridge were planning level functions protected by sovereign immunity, and the danger to pedestrians was open and obvious, negating a duty to warn.
This case arose from an automobile-pedestrian accident on a bridge where the decedent was killed. The personal representative of the estate sued the D…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Open And Obvious Danger cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
This appeal arises out of entry of summary final judgment in favor of appellee. We affirm and agree with the trial court’s findings, recited hereinafter. This case arose from an automobile-pedestrian accident on Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, Florida. A complaint was filed by the spouse and by the personal representative of the estate of Henry Durick who was killed as a result of said accident. The Florida Department of Transportation was named as a defendant along with the owner of the car, the driver of the car and an automobile brake repair business that had undertaken the repair of the subject car’s brakes.
The allegations against appellee as set forth in appellant’s complaint were that appellee was negligent in failing to prohibit persons from fishing from the subject bridge; that appellee was negligent in failing to warn persons of the danger of fishing from said bridge and that appellee was negligent in designing the bridge with an unprotected pedestrian walkway.
The trial court held:
Specifically, this Court finds that the design and construction of the Roosevelt Bridge, as well as the decision to permit pedestrian traffic thereon, are planning level functions for which sovereign immunity attaches, Commercial Carrier Corp. vs. Indian River County, 371 So. 2d 1010 (Fla., 1979) and Department of Transportation vs. Neilson, 419 So. 2d 1071 (Fla., 1982). With respect to the failure to warn, this Court finds that the danger of pedestrians being struck by a motor vehicle on the Roosevelt Bridge is readily apparent to persons utilizing said bridge as pedestrians, and therefore there is no duty to warn of this open and obvious hazard, City of St. Petersburg vs. Collom, 419 So.2nd 1081 (Fla., 1982).
We affirm.
ANSTEAD, GLICKSTEIN and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Dep't OF Transp. v. Wallis, 659 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)…judge to resolve); Department of Transp. v. Caffiero, 522 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 2d DCA) (danger a pedestrian faces in crossing a street is readily apparent; therefore sovereign immunity applies), rev. denied, 531 So. 2d 167 (Fla.1988); Masters v. Wright, 508 So. 2d 1299 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987) (summary judgment in favor of DOT proper when pedestrian on bridge with unprotected walkway hit by car and killed). The results in Payne, et al., are controlling. We reverse and remand with directions to dismiss the complaint ag…
-
State v. Caffiero, 522 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)…Beach v. Watts, 461 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). The fourth district has also affirmed the entry of a summary final judgment in favor of the DOT when a pedestrian was killed by a vehicle on a bridge with an unprotected walkway. Masters v. Wright, 508 So. 2d 1299 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). The court quoted, with ap [*59] proval, the trial court’s determination that “the danger of pedestrians being struck by a motor vehicle on the ... [bjridge is readily apparent_” Id. at 1300. Finally, the third district has held…
-
Leonard v. Wakulla Cnty., 688 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)…465 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). See also Wright v. State Dep’t of Agriculture, 540 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), rev. denied, 544 So. 2d 201 (Fla.1989). If a danger is open and notorious, the government has no duty to warn. Masters v. Wright, 508 So. 2d 1299 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). Thus, evidence of a dangerous condition that is readily apparent to the public will not generally support an exception to the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Greene v. State Dep’t of Transp., 465 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Indian River Cnty., 371 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 1979)
- Dep't OF Transp. v. Neilson, 419 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. 1982)