NETTIE MOULDEN, A WIDOW,
v.
JEFFERSON STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, A CORPORATION UNDER THE LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA

Fla. | 1941-05-03
Brown, C. J., Whitfield and Buford, J. J., concur.
147 Fla. 36 Florida Supreme Court (1941) Caution
Also reported at: 2 So. 2d 302
Cited by 25 cases

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Holding

A property owner is not an insurer of an invitee's safety; alleging failure to furnish a safe floor imposes a higher duty than the law requires.


Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff, an invitee, sued the defendant property owner, alleging the defendant failed to furnish a safe floor for the plaintiff to pass over.…

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Opinion of the Court
Adams, J.

Adams, J.

From final judgment adverse to plaintiff we consider the sufficiency of the declaration to state a cause of action. The plaintiff, an invitee, charges the defendant “did not then and there furnish the plaintiff with a safe floor on and over which to pass . . .” The declaration is defective.

This case was before this Court once before where it was said (Nettie Moulden v. Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, 143 Fla. 344, 196 So. 688) :

*37“If the owner of the building had been the insurer of the safety of the plaintiff as an invitee on its premises, there might be substance to this contention

The law is well settled that the owner of a building is not an insurer of the safety of his invitees. The duty owed to plaintiff by defendant was the exercise of a reasonable degree of care commensurate with the attending circumstances for the plaintiff’s safety. Southern Express Company v. Williamson, 66 Fla. 286, 63 So. 433; Christopher Company v. Russell, 63 Fla. 191, 58 So. 45; Turlington v. Tampa Electric Company, 62 Fla. 398, 56 So. 696.

To charge the defendant with actionable negligence it must be shown that the defendant failed and neglected to fulfill that duty. To charge the defendant with failure to furnish a safe floor is to require a higher degree of care than the law recognizes. Such requirement would make the defendant a,n insurer.

The judgment is affirmed.

Brown, C. J., Whitfield and Buford, J. J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Matson v. TIP TOP Grocery Co., Inc., 151 Fla. 247 (Fla. 1942)
    …and not give warning of same to persons invited upon the premises? Plaintiff’s status was that of an invitee. Defendant owed plaintiff the duty of maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition. Moulden v. Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co. 147 Fla. 36, 2 So. (2nd) 302. The law does not require a proprietor of a public place to maintain his premises in such condition that an accident could not possibly happen to a customer. Plaintiff was in turn obligated to exercise a reasonable degree of care fo…
  • First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Wylie, 46 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1950)
    …Fla. 446, 167 So. 658; Burdine's Inc., v. McConnell, 146 Fla. 512, 1 So. 2d 462; National Brands v. Norton Tire Co., 150 Fla. 349, 7 So. 2d 456; Matson v. Tip Top Grocery Co., 151 Fla. 247, 9 So. 2d 366; Moulden v. Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co., 147 Fla. 36, 2 So. 2d 302. They also lay down the proposition that in treating the floors of such a building the owner may apply wax or oil or other such substances in the usual and customary manner without ordinarily incurring liability to one who slips and fa…
  • Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Marcotte, 553 So. 2d 213 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)
    …the plaintiff is REVERSED. COBB and GOSHORN, JJ„ concur. . See, Night Racing Ass’n v. Green, 71 So. 2d 500, 503 (Fla.1954); Clyde Bar, Inc. v. McClamma, 152 Fla. 118, 10 So. 2d 916 (1942); Moulden v. Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co., 147 Fla. 361 2 So. 2d 302 (1941); Sparks v. Oher, 192 So. 2d 81 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966). . See, Springer v. Morris, 74 So. 2d 781, 785 (Fla.1954); Hall v. Holland, 47 So. 2d 889 (Fla.1950). . See, Ashcroft v. Calder Race Course, Inc., 492 So. 2d 1309, 1311 (Fla.1986); Burdine's…

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