BERONA LEON, A MARRIED WOMAN, AND GUSTAVO LEON, HER HUSBAND, APPELLANTS,
v.
CITY OF MIAMI, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATE SUBDIVISION OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Mrs. Leon appealed from a summary judgment dismissing her negligence claim against the City of Miami for injuries sustained from tripping in a sidewalk hole. The court held that the photograph of the defective sidewalk created a genuine issue of material fact regarding the city's negligence, precluding summary judgment in a negligence action.
Summary judgment was improper because the photograph of the sidewalk defect constitutes tangible evidence sufficient to raise an inference regarding the length of time the defect existed, which is a jury question. The issues of negligence and contributory negligence cannot be resolved by the trial court on summary judgment when jury questions are posed.
[1] Summary judgment should be applied with special caution in negligence actions.
[2] A municipality is responsible for damages resulting from sidewalk defects that have existed long enough to be discovered and repaired through the exercise of reasonable c…
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Establishes the standard of liability for municipalities regarding sidewalk defects
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBerona Leon sustained injuries when she caught her foot in a hole in a Miami sidewalk. A photograph of the sidewalk was presented at the summary judgm…
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NATHAN, Judge.
Berona Leon and Gustavo Leon, her husband, appeal from a summary judgment in favor of the defendant, City of Miami, in an action for damages arising out of a fall which Mrs. Leon alleges she sustained when she caught her foot in a hole in a sidewalk within the city limits of Miami.
The question in this case is whether or not there is a genuine issue of material fact as to the negligence of the City of Miami. On appeal from a summary judgment, we are required to view all of the facts contained in the depositions and affidavits in the light most favorable to the appellant’s case. Holl v. Tolcott, Fla.1966, 191 So. 2d 40. We must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact in view of the admonitions in Holl v. Talcott, wherein it is stated that “ . . . summary judgment procedures should be applied with special caution in negligence actions .” and that “. . . the rule simply is that the burden to prove the non-existence of genuine triable issues is on the moving party.” See Lady v. Griffin, Fla.App. 1972, 264 So. 2d 436.
The general rule in Florida is that while a city is not an insurer of the motorist or the pedestrian who travels its streets and sidewalks, City of St. Petersburg v. Roach, 1941, 148 Fla. 316, 4 So. 2d 367, it is, of course, responsible for damages resulting from defects which have been in existence so long that they could have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable care, and repaired. Mullis v. City of Miami, Fla.1952, 60 So. 2d 174, 176.
Evidence adduced at the hearing on summary judgment included a photograph of the sidewalk on which Mrs. Leon allegedly fell. The photograph was the only evidence presented which would show that the city knew or should have known of a defect in the sidewalk. However, it does constitute tangible evidence of the scene sufficient to raise an inference as to the length of time the defect was present, which is a jury question. If reasonable men might make justifiably different inferences and deductions and reach different conclusions from certain photographs, then it is the province of the jury to make such deductions and inferences. See Pividal v. City of Miami, Fla.App.1958, 105 So. 2d 502.
The mere fact that Mrs. Leon did not see the hole in the sidewalk prior to her fall, does not in itself absolve the City of Miami from negligence. It is well established that the issue of plaintiff’s own negligence is ordinarily for the jury. Suhr v. Dade County, Fla.App.1967, 198 So. 2d 837.
On the evidence presented in the record on appeal, the issues of negligence and contributory negligence could not properly be resolved by the trial court on motion for summary judgment as jury questions were posed and appellee was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (13 total)
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Hannewacker v. City OF Jacksonville Beach, 419 So. 2d 308 (Fla. 1982)…McDonald, justice. The First District Court of Appeal has certified that its decision in Hannewacker v. City of Jacksonville Beach, 402 So. 2d 1294 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), is in direct conflict with Leon v. City of Miami, 312 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla.Const. Mrs. Hannewacker alleges that she was injured in a fall caused by the chipped edge of a street curb. There was no evidence that the city had actual knowledge of the defective c…1 / 2
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Grimes v. Fam. Dollar Stores OF Fla., Inc., 194 So. 3d 424 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)…v. City of Jacksonville Beach, 419 So. 2d 308 (Fla.1982) (holding that photographs may constitute tangible evidence of the scene of an accident sufficient to raise an inference as to the length of time the defect was present); Leon v. City of Miami 312 So. 2d 518, 519 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975) (finding photos of the hazard constituted tangible evidence of the scehe sufficient to raise an inference as to the length of time the defect was present, which is a jury question); Gonzalez v. Tallahassee Med. Ctr., Inc., 62…
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Beattie v. City OF Coral Gables, 358 So. 2d 1131 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…ue to an alleged negligent defective condition in the said sidewalk, to wit: a crack. We agree and reverse as to the City of Coral Gables and its insurer Continental Casualty Company. Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966); Leon v. City of Miami, 312 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975). We affirm, however, as to the defendant Bill Ussery Motors, Inc. and its insurer Travelers Insurance Company on the ground that Bill Ussery Motors, Inc. owed no duty to the plaintiff to maintain the sidewalk herein in a safe cond…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gory Roofing Tile Mfg., Inc. v. Davison, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 1966)
- Mullis v. City of Miami, 60 So.2d 174 (Fla. 1952)
- City of St. Petersburg v. Roach, 4 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 1941)
- Nedda Suhr v. Dade Cnty., 198 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- Idalia Pividal v. City OF Miami, 105 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958)
- Lady v. Griffin, 264 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)