HENRY SMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
DADE CO./SEAPORT DEPT., APPELLEE
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The court reversed summary judgment for the County, holding that a longshoreman injured by a forklift falling into a pothole was a business invitee owed duties of care despite the absence of a current lease between his employer and the County.
A longshoreman operating a forklift on the County's property is a business invitee to whom the County owes duties to warn of concealed dangers and maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, regardless of whether a lease exists at the time of injury.
[1] A longshoreman operating equipment on property owned by a county is a business invitee entitled to the owner's duty to warn of concealed dangers and maintain safe premise…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“A business visitor is a person who is invited to enter or remain on land for a purpose directly or indirectly connected with business dealing with the possessor of the land.”
Court's definition of business visitor status, citing Industrial Affiliates, Ltd. v. Testa, 770 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).
Smith, a longshoreman, was injured in 1995 when a forklift he was operating fell into a pothole on property the County owned. Smith's employer had pre…
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PER CURIAM.
Henry Smith, the plaintiff below, appeals from an order granting the County’s motion for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.
Smith, a longshoreman, was injured on the job in 1995 when the forklift that he was operating fell into a pothole. At one time, Smith’s employer had leased the site from the County; it is not clear from the record when the lease had expired. The trial court ruled that because at the time of the accident there was no lease between the employer and the County, Smith was an uninvited licensee, and the County breached no duty to him. We reverse. “ ‘A business visitor is a person who is invited to enter or remain on land for a purpose directly or indirectly connected with business dealing with the possessor of the land.’ ” Industrial Affiliates, Ltd. v. Testa, 770 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (quoting Post v. Lunney, 261 So. 2d 146, 148 (Fla.1972)). The County therefore owed Smith, a business invitee, two duties: “1) to warn of concealed dangers of which the owner or possessor is or, through the exercise of due care, should be aware of but which an invitee can not uncover through the use of due care, and 2) to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition.” Berman v. Weberman Caterers, Inc., 647 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994).
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Post v. Lunney, 261 So. 2d 146 (Fla. 1972)
- Mendes v. State, 770 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Indus. Affiliates, Ltd. v. Testa, 770 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)
- Berman v. Weberman Caterers, Inc., 647 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)