Ramsey v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

• Decision Date: 25 October 2013
• Docket Number: No. 1D12–5781.,1D12–5781.
• Citation: 124 So.3d 415
• Parties: Charles D. RAMSEY and Gudrun Ramsey, Husband and Wife, Appellants, v. HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. and John Markham Newbern, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

124 So.3d 415

Charles D. RAMSEY and Gudrun Ramsey, Husband and Wife, Appellants,

v.HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. and John Markham Newbern, Appellees.

No. 1D12–5781.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

Oct. 25, 2013.

Stephen H. Echsner of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, for Appellants.

Joseph A. Kopacz and James P. Waczewski of Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo & Jones, Tampa, for Appellees.

ROWE, J.

Appellants, Charles and Gudrun Ramsey, challenge the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees, Home Depot and John Newbern. Because the Ramseys failed to show that there were genuine issues of material fact in dispute, we affirm the final order on appeal.

I. Factual Background

Gudrun Ramsey was a customer at Home Depot and parked her car in one of the designated accessible parking spaces. On her way back to the car, she tripped over a wheel stop at the front of the parking space where her car was located. As a result of the fall, Mrs. Ramsey was physically injured and she incurred medical expenses. The Ramseys filed a negligence action against Home Depot, alleging that Home Depot owed Mrs. Ramsey a duty to exercise reasonable care to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and a duty to warn of any dangerous, hazardous, and unsafe conditions which existed on the property. The Ramseys alleged that the wheel stop was a dangerous and hazardous condition. Home Depot moved for summary judgment, arguing that, as a matter of law, it had no duty to warn Mrs. Ramsey as the wheel stop was an open and obvious danger and that there were no disputed issues of material fact as to whether Home Depot maintained the premises in a reasonably safe condition.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, Home Depot submitted the affidavit of Rowland Lamb, a professional engineer, who described the accessible parking spaces as being twelve feet wide and twenty feet long. He averred that the spaces had six-foot wheel stops located in the center of the parking space and a posted accessibility sign mounted in a concrete bollard. He opined that the accessible parking spaces met the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Florida Building Code, and the Escambia County Land Development Code. Home Depot also submitted the testimony of Bruce Talvey, a construction manager for Home Depot, who averred that the purpose of the bollards was to prevent the accessibility signs from being easily bent. He asserted that the bollards were not designed to prevent cars from entering the pedestrian walkway between the rows of accessible parking spaces.

The Ramseys relied on their expert's affidavit and Mrs. Ramsey's deposition to oppose the motion for summary judgment. Mrs. Ramsey testified that the accident occurred between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., on a clear, sunny day. She testified that as she left the store, she was carrying her purchases, her purse, and her car keys. She testified that she tried to walk around the car, but she was focused on the accessibility sign and did not see the wheel stop because it was the same color as the parking lot. She testified that her left foot caught on the wheel stop, causing her to fall.

James Anderson, a professional engineer, averred that Home Depot could have used shorter wheel stops to eliminate the risk of tripping. He opined that the placement of wheel stops in an area for disabled patrons made them inherently dangerous because they created a barrier to a flat, even walking surface. Mr. Anderson asserted that a reasonable alternative design was available that completely eliminated the wheel stops and only used concrete bollards to protect the pedestrians in the walkway. After reviewing the evidence and hearing the arguments of the parties, the trial court granted Home Depot's motion for summary judgment and entered final judgment in its favor. This appeal follows.

II. Analysis

We review the trial court's ruling on the summary judgment motion de novo. Mills v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 27 So.3d 95, 96 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009). “[S]ummary judgment should be entered only when there is no genuine issue of any material fact, and even the slightest doubt as to the existence of such a question precludes summary judgment.” Laidlaw v. Krystal Co., 53 So.3d 1128, 1129 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011).

In order for the Ramseys' negligence claim to survive summary judgment, they were required to offer evidence tending to show that Home Depot either: (1) failed to warn Mrs. Ramsey of a concealed danger which was or should have been known to Home Depot and which was unknown to Mrs. Ramsey and could not be discovered through the exercise of due care; or (2) failed to use ordinary care to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition. Rocamonde v. Marshalls of Ma., Inc., 56 So.3d 863, 865 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).

a. Open and Obvious Hazard

With respect to the first prong of the negligence test, the trial court properly determined that the Ramseys' claim that Home Depot failed to warn of a concealed condition was barred as a matter of law. The Ramseys' claim fails as a matter of law because the wheel stop over which Mrs. Ramsey tripped was not concealed, but instead was an open and obvious condition. Although a property owner has a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe manner for its invitees, there is no duty to warn against an open and obvious condition which is not inherently dangerous. Aaron v. Palatka Mall, L.L.C., 908 So.2d 574, 576–77 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

Generally, a wheel stop placed in the center of a parking space and clearly visible presents no unreasonable risk of harm. See Aaron v. Logro Corp., 226 So.2d 8 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969), review denied,238 So.2d 422 (Fla.1970). Here, Mrs. Ramsey tripped over a concrete wheel stop in the parking lot of her local Home Depot. Mrs. Ramsey testified that the accident occurred in the morning on a clear and sunny day. The wheel stop was located at the top of the parking space and was centered within the parking stripes. The bright yellow concrete bollard holding the accessibility sign was located above the wheel stop in the parking space and was centered on the wheel stop. The wheel stop was made of concrete and the parking lot was made of asphalt. There were no allegations that the wheel stop or the concrete bollard were not properly maintained or that either suffered from design defects.

This was not a situation where the wheel stop was located in a fire lane next to the sidewalk, Bryant v. Lucky Stores, Inc., 577 So.2d 1347 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990), or a situation where the wheel stop was not centered between the parking stripes. Ricciardelli v. Fla. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 564 So.2d 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). Furthermore, Mrs. Ramsey's accident did not occur on a rainy night with insufficient lighting. Palatka Mall, 908 So.2d at...