LOLA E. HOLLAND, APPELLANT,
v.
BAGUETTE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION D/B/A LA PETITE PATISSERIE AND JOSEPH R. HARRISON, JR., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1989-03-21
No. 88-767
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and NESBITT and BASKIN, JJ.
540 So. 2d 197 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1989) Caution
Cited by 18 cases


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We reverse the final summary-judgment entered for the defendants in this trip-and-fall case on the authority of Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Kimmel, 465 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). First, here as in Kim-mel, the accident occurred in a public place, not in a private home as in Schoen v. Gilbert, 436 So. 2d 75 (Fla.1983); consequently, the facts are distinguishable from those of Schoen. Second, the affidavit of plaintiffs engineer supported the allegation that the step over which the plaintiff tripped was built in violation of the South Florida Building Code. If proven, this would constitute prima facie evidence of negligence. See Cadillac Fairview of Fla., Inc. v. Cespedes, 468 So. 2d 417 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 479 So. 2d 117 (Fla.1985); Grand Union Co. v. Rocker, 454 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Accordingly, because genuine issues of material fact remain to be resolved, it was error to enter summary judgment.

REVERSED.


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  • …f negligence, for example: (1) building code violations, see Lindsey v. Bill Arflin Bonding Agency Inc., 645 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Morowitz v. Vistaview Apartments, [*688] Ltd., 613 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Holland v. Baguette, Inc., 540 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); (2) OSHA regulations, see Jupiter Inlet Corp. v. Brocard, 546 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); (3) governmental statutes or ordinances, see Gabriel v. Tripp, 576 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991) (statutory violation making it unlawful…
  • …8), cert. denied, 368 So. 2d 1367 (Fla.1979); Richardson v. Fountain, 154 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 157 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 1963). Violation of a building code “constitute[s] prima facie evidence of negligence.” Holland v. Baguette, Inc., 540 So. 2d 197, 198 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). A determination that the steps at issue were in compliance with the building code in force at the time of the accident would not foreclose a finding of negligence, if handrail(s) were required at the time the steps were con…
  • Spadafora v. Carlo, 569 So. 2d 1329 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
    …nough to distinguish it from the step down in Schoen. The Carlos recognize that a violation of the building code is evidence of a breach of the standard of care in a premises liability case against a commercial landowner. Holland v. Baguette, Inc., 540 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Kimmel, 465 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). They argue that the building code should not be a circumstance that is relevant in a case against a residential homeowner. There may well be instances in which…

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