Our firm recently secured an appellate victory when the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed a summary judgment in favor of our client, a retail shop, in a premises liability case.
The plaintiff, a customer of a neighboring pizza restaurant, alleged she was injured when she sat on a chair placed outside our client’s storefront and it collapsed. She sued our client for negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment, finding the plaintiff was an uninvited licensee to whom our client only owed a duty to avoid willful/wanton harm and to warn of hidden dangers.
On appeal, we argued the court properly classified the plaintiff as an uninvited licensee because she removed merchandise from the chair solely for her own convenience with no intention of patronizing our client’s store. But even if she was an invitee, summary judgment was still proper because she presented no evidence our client had actual or constructive notice of any dangerous condition or failed to reasonably inspect the chair.
The plaintiff also challenged the denial of her request for a jury instruction permitting an adverse inference due to our client disposing of the chair post-incident. However, an inspection of the chair would not have yielded evidence relevant to any disputed fact.
The Fourth District’s affirmance validates the trial court’s well-reasoned decision and reinforces that premises owners are not insurers of safety. Plaintiffs must present evidence of a breach of duty to avoid summary judgment, and spoliation sanctions are improper absent a showing that missing evidence was material.
The appeal was handled by Michael Dono and Bradley Silverman.