Publix Super Market, Inc. v. Sanchez
| Decision Date | 17 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-2851,96-2851 |
| Citation | 700 So.2d 405 |
| Parties | 22 Fla. L. Weekly D2173 PUBLIX SUPER MARKET, INC., a Florida Corporation, Appellant, v. Olga Maria SANCHEZ, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Rehearing Denied Nov. 5, 1997.
Marlow, Connell, Valerius, Abrams & Adler, and William G. Edwards and William G. Liston, Miami, for appellant.
Friedman, Friedman and Gary Friedman; Lauri Waldman Ross, Miami, for appellee.
Before NESBITT, GODERICH and GREEN, JJ.
The defendant below, Publix Super Markets, Inc. [Publix], appeals from the denial of its motions for directed verdict. We reverse and remand for entry of judgment in favor of Publix.
The plaintiff below, Olga Maria Sanchez, was injured while shopping at Publix when she slipped and fell on what appeared to be a piece of cake. Subsequently, she filed a personal injury action against Publix alleging that it created a dangerous condition and negligently maintained its premises.
The evidence presented at trial showed that the plaintiff fell near a demonstration table where small pieces of cake were available for customers to sample and that at the time that the plaintiff fell, the demonstration table was not manned by a Publix employee. However, there was no evidence as to how long the cake had been on the floor or who had dropped the piece of cake on the floor. At trial, Publix assistant store manager testified that Publix store policy requires that demonstration tables be manned by a Publix employee at all times. He also acknowledged that when customers drop food that is being sampled, a hazardous condition is created.
The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Publix motions for directed verdict, new trial, or remittitur were denied. Publix appeal follows.
Publix contends that the trial court erred by denying its motion for directed verdict. We agree.
In a slip-and-fall case, in order for the plaintiff to recover damages, the plaintiff is required to
prove that the owner of the premises had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition. Constructive knowledge may be inferred from either 1) the amount of time a substance has been on the floor, or 2) the fact that the condition occurred with such frequency that the owner should have known of its existence.
Schaap v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 579 So.2d 831, 834 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (citations omitted); see also Winn-Dixie Montgomery, Inc. v. Petterson, 291 So.2d 666, 667 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)( that in a slip-and-fall action, owner of premises may not be held liable unless owner had actual or constructive notice).
In the instant case, the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, showed that Publix did not have either actual or constructive notice of the alleged substance on the floor. Specifically, there was no evidence that a Publix employee knew that there was a foreign substance on the floor. Further, there was no evidence as to how long the substance had been on the floor or who had dropped the substance on the floor. Finally, there was no evidence that this alleged condition occurred with such frequency that Publix should have known of its existence.
Alternatively, the plaintiff argues that Publix is liable for her injuries based on either the theory that Publix method of operating the demonstration table is inherently dangerous or that the demonstration table was being operated in a negligent manner. We disagree.
The plaintiff correctly states that Florida law does provide that a plaintiff may recover damages in a slip-and-fall case, regardless of notice, based on the method of operation if the plaintiff can prove that:
1. Either the method of operation is inherently dangerous, or the particular operation is being conducted in a negligent manner; and
2. The condition of the floor was created as a result of the negligent method of operation.
Schaap, 579 So.2d at 834. However, in the instant case,...
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Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc.
...of time it was on the floor, courts have precluded the jury from deciding the issue of negligence. See Publix Super Market, Inc. v. Sanchez, 700 So.2d 405, 406 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (a piece of cake was on the floor, but there was no evidence as to how long it had been on floor); Wal-Mart Stor......
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Rowe v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., WINN-DIXIE
...district recently applied the operational negligence doctrine to a supermarket in the slip and fall case of Publix Super Market v. Sanchez, 700 So.2d 405 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), the court nevertheless found no liability on facts which are closely analogous to those in the present case. And in a......
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Markowitz v. Helen Homes of Kendall Corp.
...Id. In addition, the Third District rejected the Markowitzes' negligent mode of operation claim, citing Publix Super Market, Inc. v. Sanchez, 700 So.2d 405, 406 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). The Markowitzes argue that the Third District erred in determining that no genuine issue of material fact exis......
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Soriano v. B & B Cash Grocery Stores, Inc.
...Stores, Inc., 714 So.2d 1180 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)(court found that Schaap was not binding precedent); Publix Super Market, Inc. v. Sanchez, 700 So.2d 405 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), rev. denied, 717 So.2d 537 WARNER and GROSS, JJ., concur. ...