GEORGINA CARBAJO, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF HIALEAH, APPELLEE
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Georgina Carbajo appeals a summary judgment dismissing her negligence action against the City of Hialeah after she fell through a covering into a septic tank on city property. The appellate court reversed, finding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether the city knew of the dangerous condition and whether it breached its duty to warn the plaintiff.
Summary judgment was improper because genuine issues of material fact existed precluding summary judgment. The court reversed and remanded because disputes remained regarding whether the dangerous condition existed, whether the city knew of plaintiff's presence, whether the city knew of the dangerous condition, whether the condition was open to ordinary observation, and whether the city breached its duty to warn.
[1] A property owner's duty of care to a visitor depends on the visitor's legal status on the property, such as invitee, licensee, or trespasser.
[2] A jury must be instructed on the distinctions between different visitor statuses and the corresponding duties of care owed by a property owner.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Special caution should be exercised in granting summary judgments in negligence cases; they should not be granted unless the facts are so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law.”
Establishes the heightened standard for summary judgment in negligence actions
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePlaintiff Georgina Carbajo fell through a covering into a septic tank on property owned by the City of Hialeah. The city moved for summary judgment, a…
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HENDRY, Judge.
Plaintiff, Georgina Carbajo, appeals a final summary judgment entered in favor of defendant, the City of Hialeah, in a negligence action for damages plaintiff sustained when she fell through a covering into a septic tank. In its motion for summary judgment, defendant argued that plaintiff was a trespasser, therefore, the only duty defendant owed plaintiff was to avoid willful and wanton harm to her, and upon discovery of her presence, to warn her of known dangers not open to ordinary observation. Wood v. Camp, 284 So. 2d 691 (Fla.1973). Defendant claimed, and the trial court agreed, that no evidence was presented in the record to indicate that the city knew of either plaintiff’s presence on the land or the existence of a dangerous condition. We disagree.
A summary judgment should be granted only when there is a complete absence of genuine issues of material fact. Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966); Braidi Trading Co. v. Anthony R. Abraham Enterprises, Inc., 469 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985).
Special caution should be exercised in granting summary judgments in negligence cases; they should not be granted unless the facts are so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law. Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla.1985); Holl, 191 So. 2d at 46. If the record on appeal reveals the possibility of genuine issues of material fact, or even the slightest doubt in this respect, the summary judgment should be reversed. Braidi Trading Co., 469 So. 2d at 956. After a careful review of the record on appeal, briefs, and oral arguments in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, we find genuine issues of material fact existed to preclude the entry of a summary judgment.
The record reveals that a number of facts are disputed regarding plaintiffs status and defendant’s duty to plaintiff, including whether: 1) the dangerous condition in fact existed on defendant’s land, 2) defendant knew of plaintiff’s presence on defendant’s land, 3) defendant actually knew of the dangerous condition on its premises, 4) the dangerous condition was not open to ordinary observation, and 5) defendant breached its duty to warn plaintiff of the dangerous condition. Collom v. Holton, 449 So. 2d 1003, 1005 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).
Accordingly, we reverse the final summary judgment entered against plaintiff and remand the cause for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
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Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Besco USA Int'l Corp. v. Home Sav. OF Am. FSB, 675 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)…. denied, 232 So. 2d 181 (Fla.1969). If the slightest doubt exists as to the presence of an issue of fact, then summary judgment cannot be granted. Fletcher Co. v. Melroe Mfg. Co., 261 So. 2d 191, 193 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972); Carbajo v. City of Hialeah, 514 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). We must view every possible inference in favor of a party against whom a summary judgment has been rendered. Holl v. Talcott, supra. Homes Savings’ motion for summary judgment simply asserts a default in payments and violation o…
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Ruquyya Copeland v. Fla. NEW Invs. Corp. & John Walters, 905 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)…a record reveals the possibility of genuine issues of material fact, or even the slightest doubt, summary judgment should be denied. Besco USA Int’l v. Home Savings of America FSB, 675 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); see Carbajo v. City of Hialeah, 514 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). In reviewing the record and the affidavits filed by both Walters and Copeland throughout this litigation, we find that there are genuine issues of material fact to be resolved by the trier of fact. Therefore, we reverse and reman…
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Airmanship, Inc. v. United States Aviation Underwriters, Inc., 559 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…negligent. Negligence issues are generally inappropriate for summary disposition. Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla.1985); Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966); Bogorff v. Koch, 547 So. 2d 1223 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Carbajo v. City of Hialeah, 514 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Only “when the facts are so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law,” Moore, 475 So. 2d at 668, should summary judgment be granted. Although some evidence in the record supports the view that Tasso was not negligen…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gory Roofing Tile Mfg., Inc. v. Davison, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 1966)
- Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 1985)
- Wood v. Camp, 284 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 1973)
- Dash v. Marx, 469 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Braidi Trading Co. v. Anthony R. Abraham Enters., Inc., 469 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Collom v. Holton, 449 So. 2d 1003 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)