MICHAEL L. EMERINE, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL LEE EMERINE, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
J. JOHN SCAGLIONE; ROSS, STEVENS & JOHNSON, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; AND JOSEPH ANGELO TERRANOVA, APPELLEES
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A wrongful death action arising from murders at a mobile home park. The court reversed summary judgment, holding that the deceased guest should be classified as an invitee rather than an uninvited licensee, thereby entitling the estate to pursue a negligence claim based on the landowner's duty of reasonable care.
Emerine should be classified as an invitee of the landowner as a matter of law, because he was the invited social guest of the tenant. Consequently, the landowner owed Emerine a duty of reasonable care, and a jury issue exists regarding whether the landowner breached that duty.
[1] An invited social guest of a tenant is generally classified as an invitee of the owner of the premises.
[2] Landowners owe invitees a duty of reasonable care.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“The invited social guest of a tenant is generally classified as an invitee of the owner of the premises.”
Establishes the legal classification of Emerine as an invitee based on his status as Turner's guest.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1995, Michael Lee Emerine, Jr. and Brenda Turner were murdered in their sleep at Turner's rented mobile home in the Four-J Village Mobile Home Park…
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PARKER, Acting Chief Judge.
Michael L. Emerine, as personal representative of the estate of Michael Lee Emerine, Jr. (Emerine), appeals the final summary judgment entered in favor of J. John Scaglione (Scaglione) in this wrongful death action. We conclude that the trial court erred in determining that Emerine was an uninvited licensee on Scaglione’s property and reverse the final summary judgment.
In 1995, Emerine and Brenda Turner were murdered in their sleep in Turner’s rented mobile home at the Four-J Village Mobile Home Park (Four-J Village).1 Emerine’s estate subsequently sued Sca-glione, the owner of Four-J Village, for wrongful death premised on inadequate maintenance, inadequate security mea sures, and failure to warn of the high crime area in and around Four-J Village. Scaglione moved for summary judgment, arguing that Emerine was an uninvited licensee at Four-J Village and that Sca-glione therefore owed Emerine no duty other than to refrain from wanton negligence or willful misconduct. Scaglione argued that the undisputed evidence showed that he had fulfilled this duty.
The trial court found that, as a matter of law, Eme-rine was an uninvited licensee as to Sca-glione and entered summary judgment in Scaglione’s favor.
We agree that a landowner’s only duties to an uninvited licensee are to refrain from wanton negligence or willful misconduct that would injure the licensee, to avoid intentionally exposing the licensee to danger, and to warn the licensee of any known dangerous or defective conditions that are not open to ordinary observation. See Lanza v. Polanin, 581 So. 2d 130, 131 (Fla.1991).
However, we do not agree that Emerine was an uninvited licensee at Four-J Village.
The record reflects, and the parties do not dispute, that Emerine was Turner’s guest. The invited social guest of a tenant is generally classified as an invitee of the owner of the premises. See Wood v. Camp, 284 So. 2d 691, 695 (Fla.1973); Lynch v. Brown, 489 So. 2d 65, 66 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). Landowners, such as Scaglione, owe invitees a duty of reasonable care. See , Lynch, 489 So. 2d at 66.
We conclude that, as a matter of law, Emerine should be classified as an invitee of Scaglione. Because Emerine should be classified as an invitee, a jury issue exists as to whether Scaglione acted with reasonable care in maintaining the mobile home, Four-J Village, and the surrounding area in a safe condition.
Reversed and remanded.
CASANUEVA and DAVIS, JJ., Concur. . Although Turner's ex-husband, Joseph Angelo Terranova, was convicted of the murders, this court recently overturned his convictions due to insufficient evidence and directed the trial court to discharge him. See Terranova v. State, No. 96-04983,-So. 2d -, 1999 WL 979593 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct.29, 1999).
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Citator
Cited By
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Marriott Int'l, Inc. v. Zaira Perez-Melendez, 855 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…1991)); Jacobs v. Westgate, 766 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000); Pascale v. Federal Express Corp., 656 So. 2d 1351 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, 666 So. 2d 143 (Fla.1995). . See Post v. Lunney, 261 So. 2d 146, 148 (Fla.1972); Emerine v. Scaglione, 751 So. 2d 73, 74 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), review denied, 767 So. 2d 460 (Fla.2000) ("Because Emerine should be classified as an invitee, a jury issue exists as to whether Scaglione acted with reasonable care in maintaining the mobile home ... and the surrounding area…
Authorities Cited
- Wood v. Camp, 284 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 1973)
- Lynch v. Brown, 489 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Lanza v. Polanin, 581 So. 2d 130 (Fla. 1991)