Summary
The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Miami-Dade County in a slip-and-fall negligence action. The court held that the County was entitled to judgment where the record lacked evidence of actual or constructive notice of the alleged defect.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether summary judgment was proper where the record did not establish that Miami-Dade County had actual or constructive notice of the alleged dangerous condition.
Holdings
- A governmental entity responsible for maintaining property is liable for damages from a defect that existed long enough that reasonable inspection would reveal it, but is entitled to summary judgment when it lacks actual or constructive notice of the defect. The court affirmed the summary judgment for Miami-Dade County.
Key quotations
“While the County is responsible for damages resulting from a defect which has been in existence for so long that a reasonable inspection would reveal it, the County is entitled to summary judgment where it has no actual or constructive notice of the defect.”
Factual background
The opinion contains no detailed recitation of the underlying facts. It identifies the matter as an appeal from a circuit-court judgment and resolves the appeal by reference to precedents involving a county's or city's actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition.
Procedural history
Fernando Lopez appealed a judgment of the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County. The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed, relying on its prior decisions concerning governmental liability for dangerous conditions and actual or constructive notice.