JOHN PENNINGTON AND MARCIA PENNINGTON, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
JACK SERIG ET AL., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
This case involves a slip and fall accident where plaintiffs sued school safety supervisors for negligence. The appellate court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of the supervisors, finding them immune from personal liability.
The defendants are immune from personal liability under Florida law for actions taken within the scope of their employment, absent bad faith or malicious purpose. Therefore, the plaintiffs could not prevail against them.
[1] Government employees are immune from personal liability for acts taken within the scope of their employment, absent bad faith or malicious purpose.
[2] The fellow servant rule does not apply when the plaintiff and defendant cannot be considered fellow servants under the circumstances.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“In the absence of any allegation or proof of bad faith or malicious purpose on their part, defendants are immune from personal liability under Section 768.28(9), Florida Statutes (1975).”
This quote establishes the legal basis for the defendants' immunity from personal liability.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJohn Pennington was injured when he tripped and fell on a school building landing after treads had been removed. He and his wife sued the safety super…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Fellow Servant Rule cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiffs appeal an adverse summary judgment in this action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained as a result of a slip and fall accident.
Jack Serig, defendant-appellee, supervises the annual safety inspection for all school facilities as safety supervisor for the Dade County Board of Public Instruction.
On September 25, 1975 Serig recommended to the Board’s maintenance department that the treads on the 4th floor landing of a stairway in the Board’s office building be removed. The maintenance department removed the treads and shortly thereafter Serig inspected the landing and determined it to be safe.
On October 5 plaintiff John Pennington sustained personal injuries when he tripped on the landing and fell. He and his wife, Marcia, filed a complaint against Serig and his supervisor, Richard Hale, alleging that the landing was in a defective or dangerous condition due to the negligence of these two defendants in removing or directing the removal of the treads creating a dangerous condition and in failing to warn of this condition. Following pretrial discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment which was entered in their favor.
We affirm.
In the absence of any allegation or proof of bad faith or malicious purpose on their part, defendants are immune from personal liability under Section 768.28(9), Florida Statutes (1975). See also Metropolitan Dade County v. Kelly, 348 So. 2d 49 (Fla.1st DCA 1977).
Second, plaintiffs’ reliance upon the fellow servant rule to establish a duty upon the defendants is misplaced as under the circumstances plaintiffs and defendants cannot be considered fellow servants. See Sutton v. Hancock, 105 Fla. 497, 500, 141 So. 532, 533 (1932) and Cf. Williams v. Dade County, 237 So. 2d 776, 781 (Fla.3d DCA 1970). Last, if a duty did exist, then such duty was owed to the general public as opposed to a special duty owed to the plaintiffs and, therefore, under the holding of Modlin v. City of Miami Beach, 201 So. 2d 70, 75 (Fla.1967), plaintiffs could not prevail.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Dist. Sch. Bd. OF Lake Cnty. v. Talmadge, 381 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 1980)…DCA 1979); Talmadge v. District School Board, 355 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Paul v. Heritage Insurance Co. of America, 363 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); Metropolitan Dade County v. Kelly, 348 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); Pennington v. Serig, 353 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). The issue presented is whether under subsection 768.28(9), Florida Statutes (1975), a state employee may be made a party defendant in an action for personal injuries allegedly occasioned by the employee’s negligence while acting…
Authorities Cited
- Modlin v. The City OF Miami Beach, 201 So. 2d 70 (Fla. 1967)
- Sutton v. Glenwood Hancock, 105 Fla. 497 (Fla. 1932)
- Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Kelly, 348 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
- Williams v. Dade Cnty., 237 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)