specuLationisnotenoughtoestaBLishLiaBiLity
Trial & litigation Section Chair: LilyMcCarty – Hines, McCarty & Pavlidis, PLLC theunderlyingmessage isclear: strictlycomply withcasemanagement orderdeadlines.
In a recent Florida case 1, the Second District Court of Appeal upheld summary judgment for the Defendant, a car dealership, because the Plaintiff failed to demonstrate sufficient evidence that the dealership possessed actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the Plaintiff’ s fall.
On a rainy afternoon, the Plaintiff in the subject case slipped and fell on an unidentified substance at Defendant’ s car dealership. The Plaintiff filed suit against the dealership for negligence, alleging failure to maintain the shop and warn the Plaintiff of the dangerous condition of the dealership’ s premises. The Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Plaintiff could not demonstrate that the Defendant had either actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. The trial court agreed, and the Plaintiff appealed. In his deposition, the Plaintiff testified that he did not know what
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