HAROLD E. HENDERSHOT, APPELLANT,
v.
THE KAPOK TREE INN, INC., APPELLEE
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A father appeals the dismissal of his wrongful death complaint after his two-year-old son drowned in an artificial pond on the defendant's property. The court affirmed dismissal, holding that the pond did not constitute an attractive nuisance under Florida law because it lacked the unusual or man-made element of extreme danger required to invoke that doctrine.
The court held that the complaint fails to state a cause of action under the attractive nuisance doctrine. Although the pond had a steep drop-off, this alone did not constitute the type of unnatural, unusual element of extreme danger necessary to invoke the attractive nuisance doctrine as established in Allen, Larnel, and Ansin.
“the critical issue is whether the garden and pond fall, under Florida case law, within the exception to the general rule: Were they constructed in such a manner as to constitute a trap or was there some unusual element of danger lurking about not existing in ponds generally?”
Establishes the test for attractive nuisance liability regarding artificial ponds under Florida law
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant's two-year-old son drowned in an artificial pond located in an ornamental garden owned and maintained by appellee. The pond featured gradual…
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Appellant appeals from the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of appellant-plaintiff’s second amended complaint.
Appellant’s two-year-old son drowned in an artificial pond located within an ornamental garden which was owned and maintained by appellee. Appellant sued under Section 768.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., for the wrongful death of his son alleging that appellee’ created and maintained an attractive nuisance.
The sole question before this court is whether appellant’s complaint states a cause of action.
The appellant in his complaint alleged:
“5. That the defendant had created and at all times material operated and maintained an inherently dangerous condition *629upon its premises, namely an outside garden with the following pertinent features :
(a) an artificial pond filled with dark, murky water, which created an illusion of shallowness, the banks of which sloped gradually down to the water’s edge and continued on in the same gradual sloping manner to a point approximately two feet from the water’s edge where there was a trap-like sharp drop-off with the water suddenly going from a depth of approximately six to twelve inches to approximately four feet in depth; that in the center of the pond, a short distance off shore, there was a small island which further contributed to the deceptive illusion of shallow water between the shore and island;
(b) a red fire truck with bell on the opposite shore;
(c) live ducks on the pond and between the island and banks;
(d) shade trees, shrubs and flowers in and about the island and adjacent to the pond and on the opposite shore;
(e) a high fence which completely enclosed the garden except for an eighteen foot opening or gap at which there was no fence, gate or other obstacle to entering the grounds.”
It is well established that the general rule in Florida is that owners of artificial ponds “ * * * are not guilty of actionable negligence on account of drowning therein unless they are constructed so as to constitute a trap or raft or unless there is some unusual element of danger lurking about them not existent in ponds generally.” Allen v. William P. McDonald Corporation, Fla.1949, 42 So.2d 706; see Banks v. Mason, Fla.App.1961, 132 So.2d 219; Howard v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co., 231 F.2d 592 (5th Cir. 1956). Thus, the critical issue is whether the garden and pond fall, under Florida case law, within the exception to the general rule: Were they constructed in such a manner as to constitute a trap or was there some unusual element of danger lurking about not existing in ponds generally?
The Florida Supreme Court held in Allen v. William P. McDonald Corporation, supra, that a spoil bank of white sand adjacent to an artificial lake was such an unusual element of danger as to fall within the exception to the rule. The court stated:
“ * * * The same rule would not apply to natural ponds and lakes because they are approached on a slight grade and the waters warn one of the danger. If the spoil banks were leveled, artificial ponds might be controlled by the general rule, but to leave white sand banks along the edge of an artificial pond or lake to entice children to play on them creates an unusual element of danger that subjects them to the attractive nuisance doctrine. It is common knowledge that some ponds are so constructed that a child may easily slide down the spoil banks into water as much as ten feet deep with nothing but gravity to retard its potential journey to eternity. * * * ” Allen v. William P. McDonald Corporation, supra, 42 So.2d at 707.
In Larnel Builders, Inc. v. Martin, Fla.App.1958, 105 So.2d 580, the court said:
“ * * * The deceased child and a companion were attracted by the high mound of spoil and went there to play. The steep slope on the inner side, running directly into the canal, created a hazardous condition, the portent of which was fulfilled when the deceased boy slipped or fell into the deep and murky water of the adjacent canal and was drowned. The facts brought the case within the doctrine of attractive nuisance.” Larnel Builders, Inc. v. Martin, supra, at 582.
The defendant in Ansin v. Thurston, Fla.App.1957, 98 So.2d 87, had knowledge that a floating dock and raft had been placed in *630an artificial lake located on his land. The court held:
“ * * * It is certain that children would be attracted to such a place and the dangerous condition of the floating dock and tipsy raft taken with the sudden drop to deep water (which is a part of the nature of a pit) were sufficient to establish a prima facie case.” Ansin v. Thurston, supra, at 88.
The case of Howard v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, 231 F.2d 592 (5th Cir. 1956), involves a five-year-old boy who drowned when he fell into an abandoned water well. The Court in interpreting Florida law held that:
“In the drowning cases, there has invariably been required, for liability, a type of approach to the body of water in question different from and more dangerous than the approaches to most natural bodies of water. * * *
“ * * * There was nothing about the approach to the well in this case which would cause one to slip or fall into it any more than one would fall into any natural body of water. * * * ” Howard v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, supra, at 594.
This court in Banks v. Mason, Fla.App. 1961, 132 So.2d 219, ruled that where a three-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool the complaint failed to state a cause of action under the attractive nuisance doctrine in absence of a showing that the pool constituted a trap or latent danger.
A twelve-year-old girl in Switzer v. Dye, Fla.App.1965, 177 So.2d 539, was injured when she dived from a dock into three to five feet of water. The court held that it could not be said that a trap or unusual element of danger was created that would justify invoking the attractive nuisance doctrine. See Lomas v. West Palm Beach Water Co., Fla.1952, 57 So.2d 881; Newby v. West Palm Beach Water Co., Fla.1950, 47 So.2d 527, for other cases in which it was held that the attractive nuisance doctrine was not applicable.
In the Allen, Larnel and Ansin cases cited above, wherein the courts found that the attractive nuisance doctrine was applicable, there was present a man-made condition which involved an unusual element of extreme danger. We find that a comparison of the factual situation in the instant case with those cases cited above, both those in which the attractive nuisance doctrine was applied and those in which it was not, discloses that in the instant case there was not alleged the presence of the unnatural, unusual element of danger of the type and nature that is necessary to invoke the attractive nuisance doctrine. Therefore, the lower court’s dismissal is affirmed.
Affirmed.
SHANNON and PIERCE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Saga BAY Prop. Owners Ass'n v. Askew, 513 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)…acteristic of lakes and does not constitute a [*694] concealed dangerous condition.5 Kinya v. Lifter, Inc., 489 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (artificial bank’s slope not so different from natural bodies of water); Hendershot v. Kapok Tree Inn, Inc., 203 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967) (sudden drop-off two feet from shore); Howard v. Atlantic Coast Line R.R. Co., 231 F. 2d 592 (5th Cir.1956) (applying Florida law; straight sides do not constitute hidden danger); Cortes v. Nebraska, 191 Neb. 795, 218 N.W. 2d 214…
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Kinya v. Lifter, Inc., 489 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)…e is some unusual element of dan [*95] ger lurking about it, not existent in ponds generally. Lomas v. West Palm Beach Water Co., 57 So. 2d 881 (Fla.1952); Newby v. West Palm Beach Water Co., 47 So. 2d 527 (Fla.1950); Hendershot v. Kapok Tree, Inc., 203 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967); Switzer v. Dye, 177 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 1st DCA 1965); Banks v. Mason, 132 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). The facts in this case simply do not reveal the existence of a trap or unusual hidden danger. The lake was constructed in acco…
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Walt Disney World Co. v. Marietta Goode, 501 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…5th DCA), pet. for rev. den., 458 So. 2d 273 (Fla.1984) (court held that the complaint properly stated a cause of action under the attractive nuisance doctrine where trespassing child drowned in artificial pond); Hendershot v. Kapok Tree Inn, Inc., 203 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967) (the attractive nuisance doctrine was held to apply); Adler v. Copeland, 105 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958) (court found the attractive nuisánce doctrine inapplicable as there was no trap and the deceased infant was not a trespasse…1 / 3
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Allen v. William P. McDonald Corp., 42 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 1949)
- Newby v. W. Palm Beach Water Co., 47 So.2d 527 (Fla. 1950)
- Lomas v. W. Palm Beach Water Co., 57 So.2d 881 (Fla. 1952)
- Ansin v. Thurston, 98 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 3d DCA 1957)
- Ted M. Banks v. Mason, 132 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Switzer v. DYE, 177 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 1st DCA 1965)
- Larnel Builders, Inc. v. Martin, 105 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958)
- Howard v. Atl. Coast Line R.R. Co., 231 F.2d 592 (5th Cir. 1956)