JEAN BEATTIE, A SINGLE WOMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATE SUBDIVISION OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, BILL USSERY MOTORS, INC., A FLORIDA CORP. THE TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, AND CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1978-05-09
No. 77-78
Per Curiam
358 So. 2d 1131 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1978) Positive Treatment
Cited by 20 cases

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Synopsis

Court reversed summary judgment against municipality for slip-and-fall on public sidewalk where genuine issue of material fact existed regarding alleged negligent crack, but affirmed judgment against private motor company lacking duty to maintain sidewalk.


Holding

A municipality may be held liable for negligent maintenance of a public sidewalk where a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding a defective condition, but a private business owes no duty to maintain an adjacent public sidewalk.


Headnotes

[1] A private business owes no duty to maintain an adjacent public sidewalk, and therefore cannot be held liable for injuries resulting from defects in that sidewalk.

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Facts & Procedural History

Jean Beattie fell and injured herself on a public sidewalk in Coral Gables, allegedly due to a crack in the sidewalk. The defendants included the City…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The plaintiff Jean Beattie appeals from a final summary judgment entered in a slip and fall negligence action in favor of the defendants City of Coral Gables and its insurer Continental Casualty Company, Bill Ussery Motors Inc., and its insurer Travelers Insurance Company, in the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. The plaintiff contends on appeal that summary judgment was improper as there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the plaintiff fell and injured herself on a public sidewalk in the City of Coral Gables due 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 condition. Woods v. City of Palatka, 63 So. 2d 636 (Fla.1953); Gornto v. Marks, 311 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975).

We find the other contention raised by the appellant on this appeal to be without merit.

Affirmed as to the defendant Bill Ussery Motors, Inc. and its insurer Travelers Insurance Company; reversed and remanded for further proceedings as to the defendant City of Coral Gables and its insurer Continental Casualty Company.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Teresita Cantens v. Jeff-Son, Inc., 381 So. 2d 307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …Jeff-Son. This appeal followed. The record evidences that the accident occurred on the public sidewalk. Jeff-Son, as owner of the Jefferson Hotel, had no duty to maintain the public sidewalk where Mrs. Cantens fell. Beattie v. City of Coral Gables, 358 So. 2d 1131 (Fla.3d DCA 1978). Accordingly, the summary judgment is affirmed. Affirmed. . The action against the City of Miami Beach was voluntarily dismissed.…
  • Murray Freundlich v. S. Seas Operating Corp., 398 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
    …PER CURIAM. An adjoining property owner has no duty to maintain a public sidewalk. Cantens v. Jeff-Son, Inc., 381 So. 2d 307 (Fla.3d DCA 1980), Beattie v. City of Coral Gables, 358 So. 2d 1131 (Fla.3d DCA 1978). Upon examination of the record and briefs there appears no genuine issue of material fact and defendant-appellee is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966). Affirmed.…
  • Kopf v. City OF Miami Beach, 653 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
    …So. 2d 41 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Hogan v. Chupka, 579 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Bryant v. Lucky Stores, Inc., 577 So. 2d 1347 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Spaulding v. City of Melbourne, 473 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); Beattie v. City of Coral Gables, 358 So. 2d 1131 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); City of Miami v. Altman, 128 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961). Hence, the summary judgment entered for the city below1 is reversed and the cause remanded for trial. Reversed and remanded. GERSTEN, J., concurs. . The trial jud…

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