WILLIAM E. KEELEY, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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Keeley, a cement truck driver, was severely injured by electrical explosions at a power substation and sued Florida Power and Light. The court reversed summary judgment in favor of FPL, finding disputed material facts about how the injury occurred and whether FPL discharged its heightened duty of care to warn of latent electrical hazards.
Summary judgment was improperly entered because material factual disputes remain regarding the cause of Keeley's injuries and whether FPL satisfied its heightened duty of care. These factual issues must be determined by a jury rather than resolved on summary judgment.
[1] A landowner owes a business invitee the duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn of latent perils unknown to the invitee and not discovera…
[2] Power companies owe a heightened duty of care to business invitees, proportionate to the inherent risks of their operations.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“While power companies are not insurers, they nevertheless must shoulder a greater-than-usual duty of care in proportion to the greater-than-usual zone of risk associated with the business enterprise they have undertaken.”
Establishes the heightened standard of care owed by power companies to business invitees
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKeeley was employed by a subcontractor working at an FPL electrical substation. While hosing down a cement mixer platform he had just used, two explos…
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HALL, Judge.
William Keeley challenges the final summary judgment entered in favor of Florida Power and Light Company in his action for personal injuries. Keeley contends that summary judgment was improperly entered because there remain disputed issues of material fact. We agree and reverse.
Keeley was a cement truck driver employed by West Coast Industries, a subcontractor for Eastern Utilities Construction Co., the contractor hired by Florida Power to perform work at one of its electrical power substations. Keeley was severely injured at the substation when an explosion threw him into a bus bar carrying 138,000 volts of electricity. A second explosion threw him to the ground. Keeley had just finished pouring a load of cement, had climbed up to the cement mixer platform, and was hosing down the mixer’s chute when the explosions occurred.
A business invitee is owed two duties by Florida landowners: “(1) to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition; and (2) to warn the invitee of latent perils which are or should be known to the owner or occupier but which are unknown to the invitee and cannot be discovered by the invitee through the exercise of due care.” La Villarena, Inc. v. Acosta, 597 So. 2d 336, 337 (Fla. 3d DCA1992).
As a business invitee onto the premises of a power company, Keeley was owed an even higher duty of care by Florida Power: “[w]hile power companies are not insurers, they nevertheless must shoulder a greater-than-usual duty of care in proportion to the greater-than-usual zone of risk associated with the business enterprise they have undertaken.” McCain v. Fla. Power Corp., 593 So. 2d 500, 504 (Fla.1992). Whether the power company has discharged its duty depends on the circumstances of each case. Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Robinson, 68 So. 2d 406 (Fla.1953). It is the circumstances which caused Keeley’s injuries that are in dispute in this case.
Keeley contends that his use of the water hose caused the electricity in the bus bar to arc over to him. He asserts that the arcing of the electricity was a latent danger of which he was not warned by the “High Voltage” signs posted around the substation. Florida Power, on the other hand, despite Keeley’s affidavit to the contrary, contends that Keeley actually touched the bus bar. It asserts that the bus bar was highly visible and, therefore, it discharged its duty to Keeley through the posting of the “High Voltage” signs.
We find there are disputed issues of material fact as to how Keeley was injured and whether Florida Power discharged its duty to Keeley under the circumstances. These factual issues were for the jury to determine, and summary judgment was therefore improper. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and FRANK, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- McCAIN v. Fla. Power Corp., 593 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 1992)
- Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Robinson, 68 So. 2d 406 (Fla. 1953)
- LA Villarena, Inc. v. Acosta, 597 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)