Thoma v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., 93-3338
| Decision Date | 17 January 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-3338,93-3338 |
| Citation | 649 So.2d 277 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly D219 Deborah S. THOMA and Michael Thoma, Husband and Wife, Appellants, v. CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC., a Tennessee Corporation, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Michael D. Hook, Pensacola, for appellants.
Jaime D. Liang, Tallahassee, for appellee.
Appellant, Deborah Thoma, claims to have suffered a back injury when she fell in the Tallahassee Cracker Barrel Restaurant on the morning of September 26, 1990. She alleges Cracker Barrel negligently maintained the floor in a particular area of the restaurant either by creating a dangerous condition or by failing to discover a condition that had existed for a sufficient time so that Cracker Barrel knew or should have known about it. We reverse a final summary judgment entered in favor of Cracker Barrel. Contrary to the assertions made by Cracker Barrel both in its brief and at oral argument, we are required to view the evidence in a light most favorable to Thoma, and, moreover, to draw all competing inferences in favor of Thoma, as the nonmoving party below. Brooks v. Phillip Watts Enterprises, Inc., 560 So.2d 339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990).
After eating breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, Thoma took three or four steps away from her table when her left foot slid out from under her, causing her to fall. The fall occurred in a common aisle, near the passage from the kitchen to the restaurant. When Thoma got up, she noticed an area 1 foot by 2 feet containing drops of clear liquid. She claims to have slipped on this liquid. Thoma was in the restaurant about thirty minutes before her accident. During that time, she saw no one drop anything on the floor in the area where she fell.
Mr. Leonard McNeal was the only known witness to the fall. He arrived for breakfast about 15 minutes before the accident. His seat was some 12 to 15 feet away from where Thoma fell. McNeal described the area as "a normal area where waitresses would frequently go in and out (the kitchen) door." McNeal felt sure he saw waitresses carrying beverage pitchers in that area. He did not see any Cracker Barrel customers carrying drinks in the area, nor did he see anyone drop or spill anything.
Cracker Barrel's manager, Mr. Charlie Gray, inspected the area of the fall and saw no foreign substance whatever on the floor. According to Mr. Gray, the Cracker Barrel is not a buffet restaurant and he would not expect customers to get up and walk around with food or drinks.
To recover for injuries incurred in a slip and fall accident, the plaintiff must show that the premises owner either created a dangerous condition or had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition. Notice of a dangerous condition may be established by circumstantial evidence, such as evidence leading to an inference that a substance has been on the floor for a sufficient length of time such that in the exercise of reasonable care the...
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