REGINA M. D'ANGELO, APPELLANT,
v.
JEFFERSON WARD STORES, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1987-12-30
No. 4-86-1120
GLICKSTEIN and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
517 So. 2d 127 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1987) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Holding

The court held that the trial court erred in directing a verdict because the cause of the fall and the defendant's breach of duty were jury questions.


Facts & Procedural History

Appellant tripped over a thin, silver, knee-high link chain placed across an aisle at a cash register to indicate it was closed. The trial court direc…

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Opinion of the Court
HERSEY, Chief Judge.

HERSEY, Chief Judge.

The trial court directed a verdict, taking appellant D’Angelo’s slip and fall case away from the jury.

We are reminded by appellant that:

On a motion for directed verdict, the court must view the evidence adduced and every conclusion therefrom in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party,, resolving every conflict and inference for that party. This is the test at the trial level, as well as the standard of review at the appellate level.

Reams v. Vaughn, 435 So. 2d 879, 880 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983) (citation omitted).

The testimony tends to show that appellant tripped over a thin, silver-colored, knee-high link chain, falling on her left side. The chain had apparently been placed across an aisle at a cash register to indicate that the aisle was not open for business.

The trial judge is not permitted to determine matters of witnesses’ credibility or to weigh the evidence. Lupoletti v. Miller, 269 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972). In doing so here there was an impermissible invasion of the province of the jury.

The cause of appellant’s fall and whether there was a breach by appellee of its duty of care to store customers are properly jury questions. We therefore reverse.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

GLICKSTEIN and WALDEN, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Carmen v. Stow, 610 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …r purposes of Appellee’s motion for a directed verdict, must be resolved, along with the resulting inferences, in favor of Stow. For that reason, I would reverse the trial court’s grant of a directed verdict. D’Angelo v. Jefferson Ward Stores, Inc., 517 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); Reams. As the majority opinion notes, Johnson permits relief for a fraudulent misrepresentation only when four elements are all presented. 480 So. 2d at 627. See Taylor v. Kenco Chem. & Mfg. Corp., 465 So. 2d 581, 589 (Fla. 1st…

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