Hannewacker v. City of Jacksonville Beach, UU-79

• Decision Date: 13 August 1981
• Docket Number: No. UU-79,UU-79
• Citation: 402 So.2d 1294
• Parties: Virginia HANNEWACKER, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1294

402 So.2d 1294

Virginia HANNEWACKER, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Appellee.

No. UU-79.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

Aug. 13, 1981.

Steven E. Rohan, Jacksonville, for appellant.

C. Wayne Alford of Sinoff & Alford, Jacksonville, for appellee.

MILLS, Judge.

Following a jury verdict for Hannewacker in a slip-and-fall case, the trial court entered judgment for the City in accordance with its motion for directed verdict made during the trial.

Hannewacker was injured by a fall which occurred when she slipped and fell on a broken place in the edge of the curb while attempting to cross a city street.

She brought suit against the City alleging that it failed to keep public streets, street curbs, and sidewalks within its corporate limits in a reasonably safe and suitable condition for travel by the public.

At trial, Hannewacker adduced testimony by the Director of General Services for the City indicating that no work had been done in the area where the sidewalk was for at least two years, the period of time for which he had been responsible for the maintenance; that there was no regular inspection schedule for the repair of streets or sidewalks; that no one was responsible for inspection, and that the Department relied on complaints, phone calls, or irregular visual inspection in determining the existence of defects in need of repair. The Director stated, however, that he drove by the location in question three or four times a day. In addition, Hannewacker introduced photographs of the curb area which showed the broken section.

At the close of Hannewacker's case, the City made a motion for directed verdict. The trial court reserved ruling on the motion. After a jury verdict of $25,000 in favor of Hannewacker, the City renewed its motion for directed verdict and the trial court granted the motion and entered a final judgment for the City.

The issues raised before the trial court and here are (1) whether photographs constitute tangible evidence of the scene of the accident sufficient to raise an inference as to the length of time the defect was present and (2) whether the evidence presented was sufficient to allow the jury to infer that the City had constructive notice of the sidewalk defect and was negligent in allowing the defect to remain unrepaired.

In ruling on the motion, the trial court expressly relied on the City of Jacksonville v. Hampton, 108 So.2d 768 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959), which holds that photographs are not sufficient to raise an inference as to the length of time a defect has been present. The trial court ruled that since there was no other evidence concerning the length of time the defect existed, the City was entitled to judgment.

The trial court also stated that as to Hannewacker's contention that the length of time may be established or inferred from absence of inspection, the evidence failed to disclose the absence of any such inspection for any particular period of time prior to the accident and noted that...