ELVIRA SAN MIGUEL, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF MIAMI, APPELLEE
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In this slip and fall case, Elvira San Miguel appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Miami after she alleged injury from tripping on a water meter cover in a sidewalk. The court affirmed, holding that without evidence of the City's actual or constructive knowledge of the meter cover's propensity to become dislodged, liability cannot be imposed.
Final summary judgment in favor of the City was properly entered because the record was entirely devoid of evidence that the City had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition posed by the meter cover. Liability cannot be imposed against a property owner for an open and obvious danger without proof that the owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition.
[1] A municipality cannot be held liable for injuries caused by a dislodged water meter cover on a sidewalk absent evidence of actual or constructive knowledge of the dangero…
[2] Liability for injuries caused by a sidewalk defect requires proof that the landowner had actual notice of the condition or that the condition existed for a sufficient dur…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“liability cannot be imposed against the City without record evidence of the City's actual or constructive knowledge of the meter cover's propensity to become dislodged from the sidewalk upon being stepped on”
Establishes the core legal standard requiring proof of knowledge of the specific dangerous condition
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceElvira San Miguel was injured when she tripped and fell on a water meter cover installed in a sidewalk within the City of Miami but maintained by Miam…
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PER CURIAM.
Elvira San Miguel filed this slip and fall action against the City of Miami (“City”) and alleged that she was injured as she and a friend walked on a water meter cover installed in a sidewalk located within the City but maintained by Miami-Dade County’s Water and Sewer Department. Essentially, Ms. San Miguel claims that when her friend stepped on a portion of the meter cover, the cover protruded upward and caused her to trip and fall. The City filed a motion for final summary judgment on the grounds, among other things, that the record was devoid of any evidence of its actual or constructive knowledge of this dangerous condition. The trial court granted the motion and this appeal followed.
Based upon our independent review of the record evidence, we conclude that final summary judgment was properly entered in the City’s favor. Where as here, the meter cover, when situated in the sidewalk, did not otherwise pose an open and obvious danger which existed for a period of time, see, e.g., Hirsehenson v. Westway Inc., 728 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (metal rod extending over sidewalk); Burnett v. Lower Fla. Keys Health Sys., Inc., 722 So. 2d 951 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (wet floor); Skipper v. Barnes Supermarket, 573 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (spilled spaghetti strewn over floor); Ayers v. City of Miami, 578 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991) (uncapped gas valve box); Spaulding v. City of Melbourne, 473 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985) (broken sidewalk); Pentecost v. Ansan Corp., 136 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962) (broken pipe protruding from sidewalk), liability cannot be imposed against the City without record evidence of the City’s actual or constructive knowledge of the meter cover’s propensity to become dislodged from the sidewalk upon being stepped on. See Nance v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 436 So. 2d 1075, 1076 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) (plaintiff must show that landowner had actual notice of the dangerous condition or that it existed for such a length of time that in the exercise of ordinary care, the landowner should have known of it and taken remedial action); see also Newalk v. Florida Supermarkets, Inc., 610 So. 2d 528, 529 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992) (same); Maryland Maint. Serv., Inc. v. Palmieri, 559 So. 2d 74, 76 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (same).
The record before us is totally devoid of any evidence that the City had actual or constructive notice of this alleged dangerous condition. For that reason, we affirm the summary judgment.
Affirmed.
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Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Anne E. Nance v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 436 So. 2d 1075 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Md. Maint. Serv., Inc. v. Vittorio Palmieri and Bertha Palmieri, 559 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Newalk v. Fla. Supermarkets, Inc., 610 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- Spaulding v. City OF Melbourne, 473 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- Skipper v. Barnes Supermarket, 573 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
- Ellis Ayers, Jr. v. The City OF Miami & Peoples Gas Sys., Inc., 578 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
- Pentecost v. Ansan Corp., 136 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- Burnett v. The Lower Fla. Keys Health Sys., Inc., 722 So. 2d 951 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)
- Hirschenson v. Westway Inc., 728 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)