NANCY R. SAWYER, APPELLANT,
v.
ALLIED INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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.
Nancy Sawyer appeals a summary judgment granted in favor of her employer's landlord, Allied International Holdings, after she fell down an unlighted stairway while performing job duties. The court reversed, holding that genuine issues of material fact regarding causation precluded summary judgment and that a jury should determine whether the landlord's negligence in maintaining inadequate lighting proximately caused her injuries.
Summary judgment was improper because genuine issues of material fact remain regarding whether the defendant's negligence in failing to illuminate the stairway proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries. Proximate cause questions must generally be resolved by the trier of fact based on all facts and circumstances, and doubts and inferences must be resolved against the moving party in the summary judgment context.
[1] A landlord who possesses and controls a stairway used by tenants and their invitees has a duty to maintain adequate lighting on the stairway.
[2] A genuine issue of material fact regarding causation exists when a plaintiff testifies that they fell in darkness and may have slipped on an unidentified substance.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“In moving for summary judgment, Allied did not raise any issue as to whether it breached its duty to Ms. Sawyer by not providing adequate lighting on the stairway, but merely disputed causation.”
Establishes that the defendant conceded the breach of duty and only contested causation, meaning summary judgment on breach was improper.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn January 1995, Ms. Sawyer, an employee of Florida Travel Network located in a building owned by Allied, fell down an outside stairway while taking o…
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 Duty To Maintain Premises In Reasonably Safe Condition cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Nancy R. Sawyer appeals a final summary judgment in favor of defendant Allied International Holdings, Inc. (Allied). We reverse.
In 1995, Ms. Sawyer was an employee of Florida Travel Network, a business which is located on the second floor of a two-story building owned by Allied. Ms. Sawyer’s duties as an employee included taking out the trash which required her to exit her office and proceed down an outside stairway. Allied admits possession and control of the premises, including the stairway.
On January 10, 1995, Ms. Sawyer was engaged in taking the trash out when she fell down the stairway injuring herself. At the time of Ms. Sawyer’s fall, the stairway was not lighted. There was an outside light fixture near the stairway, but it was not illuminated because the bulb had burned out. Allied was on notice that the stairway was not lighted and had been requested to replace the bulb.
In moving for summary judgment, Allied did not raise any issue as to whether it breached its duty to Ms. Sawyer by not providing adequate lighting on the stairway, but merely disputed causation. Allied argued that it was entitled to summary judgment because Ms. Sawyer could not identify the cause of her fall. Allied directed the court’s attention to Ms. Sawyer’s deposition wherein she testified that she had “no clue” as to why she fell.
The court granted the motion and entered final summary judgment in favor of Allied. The court determined that it would be improper to infer a causal connection between the illumination of the stairway and Ms. Sawyer’s fall, where Ms. Sawyer herself failed to assert any causal connection in her deposition. The court further stated that the motion for summary judgment would have been denied if Ms. Sawyer had indicated that she fell because it was dark.
On appeal, Ms. Sawyer argues that it is unrefuted that the stairway was dark at the time, she fell and that she was descending the stairway in a safe manner. Further, she points out that she did testify that she thought she may have slipped on something, but that it was too dark to determine what it was. Therefore, she argues that the dark conditions caused by the defendant’s negligence, contributed to, if not caused, her fall.
We reverse the summary judgment because genuine issues of - material fact re main unresolved regarding causation. See Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla.1985); Klaue v. Galencare, Inc., 696 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). Proximate cause questions generally must be resolved by the trier of fact based on all the facts and circumstances presented. See Helman v. Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co., 349 So. 2d 1187, 1189 (Fla.1977); Leib v. City of Tampa, 326 So. 2d 52, 53 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976).
In the context of a motion for summary judgment, it is well settled that doubts and inferences must be resolved against the mover. See Majeske v. Palm Beach Kennel Club, 117 So. 2d 531, 533 (Fla. 2d DCA 1959). Thus, the facts here indicate that we have a prima facie case of negligence on the part of Allied in not maintaining the lighting on the stairway. Further, the facts indicate that Ms. Sawyer suffered significant injuries in her fall.
In such situations, the jury should be given the opportunity to weigh the evidence and, without speculating, to draw reasonable inferences to determine whether the defendant’s negligence was a proximate cause of the plaintiffs injuries. See Majeske, 117 So. 2d at 533-34. Accordingly, the summary judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for a jury trial.
Reversed and remanded.
PARKER, C.J., and PATTERSON and NORTHCUTT, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Colon v. Outback Steakhouse OF Fla., Inc., 721 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…5); Robbins v. Hess, 659 So. 2d 424, 425 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). If there is doubt about the existence or nonexistence of a genuine issue of material fact, such doubt must be resolved against the moving party. See Sawyer v. Allied Int’l Holdings, Inc., 707 So. 2d 761, 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). Indeed, “[i]f the evidence raises any issue of material fact, if it is conflicting, if it mil permit different reasonable inferences, or if it tends to prove the issues, it [*771] should be submitted to the jury as a questio…
-
Petruska v. Smartparks-Silver Springs, Inc., 914 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)…e issue here is one of causation. In cases where there are issues relating to the cause of the accident, the courts are even more cautious in granting summary judgment because causation is so fact-specific. See Sawyer v. Allied Int’l Holdings, Inc., 707 So. 2d 761, 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (“Proximate cause questions generally must be resolved by the trier of fact based on all the facts and circumstances presented.”) (citing Helman v. Seaboard Coast Line R.R Co., 349 So. 2d 1187, 1189 (Fla.1977); Leib v. City o…
-
Jennaro v. Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., 752 So. 2d 82 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)…what caused his injury. Rather, to obtain summary judgment the defendant must establish unequivocally that it was not negligent or that the plaintiffs negligence was the sole proximate cause of the injury. See Sawyer v. Allied Int’l Holdings, Inc., 707 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998); Hervey, 650 So. 2d 644; Chelton, 525 So. 2d 972; Edwards v. Kings Point Hous. Corp., 351 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). See also Roach v. Raubar, 362 So. 2d 84 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) (reversing directed verdict in favor of defendan…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 1985)
- Helman v. Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co. & William A. Cagle, 349 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 1977)
- Majeske v. Palm Beach Kennel Club, 117 So. 2d 531 (Fla. 2d DCA 1959)
- Leib v. City OF Tampa, 326 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- Klaue v. Galencare, Inc., 696 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)