Thunderbird Drive-In Theatre, Inc. v. Reed By and Through Reed
| Decision Date | 03 October 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-0253,DRIVE-IN,88-0253 |
| Citation | 571 So.2d 1341 |
| Parties | 15 Fla. L. Weekly D2451 THUNDERBIRDTHEATRE, INC., and Florida Drive-In Theatre Management, Inc., Appellants, v. Ronald L. REED, incompetent, By and Through Calvin REED and Joyce Reed, his legal guardians and next friends, Robert F. Coyman, Jeanne Coyman and Christopher Todd Coyman, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Appellees' motion for rehearing is granted and our original opinion is vacated and replaced by the following opinion.
Appellants, Thunderbird Drive-In Theatre, Inc., and Florida Drive-In Theatre Management, Inc., (the Theatre) appeal from a final judgment and order taxing costs arising out of a suit for personal injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident.
On June 23, 1985, a motorcycle driven by the plaintiff, Ronald Reed, collided with a pickup truck driven by appellee, Christopher Coyman. The accident occurred on Sunrise Boulevard, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near the entrance to the Thunderbird Drive-In Theatre. At the time of the accident, Reed was operating his motorcycle westbound on Sunrise Boulevard. He had stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Northwest 31st Avenue and Sunrise, approximately one-tenth of a mile east of the entrance to the theatre. He then proceeded west on Sunrise toward the entrance to the theatre, which was located on the north side of Sunrise Boulevard. At the same time, Christopher Coyman, driving a pickup truck, had been proceeding east on Sunrise Boulevard. He attempted to make a lefthand turn across the westbound lanes of Sunrise Boulevard into the theatre but was unable to make it completely across Sunrise and Reed ran into the side of Coyman's truck.
At the theatre location Sunrise Boulevard has three eastbound lanes, plus a left turn lane, and three westbound lanes. There was evidence that the northernmost lane of the westbound traffic had cars lined up waiting to turn into the theatre, as did the left turn lane of the eastbound traffic. Coyman saw an opening in the theatre entrance and pulled around the lead car in the left turn lane and attempted to cross Sunrise, but was unable to do so because another car moved into the theatre entrance. This left Coyman in the path of Reed's motorcycle resulting in the collision.
Visibility was never an issue. There was nothing obstructing the view of either of the parties to the collision, yet Coyman said he never saw the motorcycle. The cycle laid down forty-two feet of skid marks and its speed was variably estimated at between forty-five and eighty-three miles per hour.
Reed was taken to Plantation Hospital severely injured. While there, blood was taken from him and the test results reflect that he had a blood alcohol level of .237 and a high positive marijuana presence in his urine.
At trial, Reed contended that the Theatre was negligent in the design and maintenance of the entrance to the theatre; that this negligence caused traffic to build up on Sunrise creating a known dangerous condition; that the Theatre failed to ameliorate this dangerous condition by hiring additional police personnel to supervise the traffic; and that such negligence caused or contributed to the cause of the accident. In addition to the charges of negligent design and operation of the theatre entrance, Reed contended that the resulting traffic congestion on Sunrise Boulevard without hiring any police personnel to improve traffic flow constitutes a violation of section 316.2045(1), Florida Statutes (1987), which makes it unlawful to willfully "obstruct the free, convenient, and normal use of any public street, highway, or road by impeding, hindering, stifling, retarding, or restraining traffic or passage thereon, by standing or approaching motor vehicles thereon, or by endangering the safe movement of vehicles or pedestrians traveling thereon...."
The Theatre contended that there had been no prior accidents or governmental complaints about its operation of the facility and that a slowdown in traffic by congregation of its customers in the highway did not impose liability on it as a property owner. Furthermore, the Theatre argues that, even if it were negligent, that negligence was not the proximate cause of the accident; rather, Coyman's negligent turn in front of Reed was the proximate cause thereof.
The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs for $6,500,000. In addition, they found the Theatre 25% negligent, Reed 25% negligent, and Coyman 50% negligent. From a final judgment against all of the defendants in the amount of $4,875,000, the Theatre has perfected this appeal.
The first point presented by the Theatre for our consideration raises the question of whether it, as a property owner adjacent to a busy public highway, is liable for the accident in question. The Theatre, of course, contends that it was not negligent in any fashion, or, if negligent, that such negligence was not the proximate cause of the accident involved herein. It points to the evidence that showed that it did not directly obstruct the visibility of any motorists, nor create any obstruction on the roadway, and that there is no evidence of prior accidents or complaints by any governmental authority. Nevertheless, the Theatre could not deny, and the jury could certainly find on this record, that it was aware on the evening in question that traffic was building up in the curb lane of the westbound traffic and in the left turn lane of the eastbound traffic as a result of its patrons waiting to enter the theatre grounds. There is no suggestion that this condition was any different than that which usually transpired there when seven different movies commenced at the same time, including the attraction of an early bird special for those arriving between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. Thus, if a jury could find that the congestion created on the highway at the entrance to the theatre on this busy public thoroughfare creates a dangerous condition vis-a-vis the movement of traffic, the trier of fact could find negligence which, if it contributed to the cause of the accident, would result in liability. Whether the suggested danger is foreseeable is a jury question. Kaisner v. Kolb, 543 So.2d 732 (Fla.1989); Gibson v. Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc., 386 So.2d 520 (Fla.1980). One can conclude from this record that the Theatre was on notice that privately-hired police are necessary to handle large crowds of cars and people. This conclusion is evidenced by the fact that the Theatre hired private police to direct traffic on the property during movie showings, and that whenever they operated a Swap & Shop event, an event which generated a large crowd, they also hired police to direct traffic out on the highway. In view of the totality of the evidence regarding what transpired here, we believe the answer to the Theatre's first point is set forth in the following quotation from the recent case of Kaisner v. Kolb, wherein the court stated:
There is a strong public policy in this state that, where reasonable men may differ, the question of foreseeability in negligence cases should be resolved by a jury. Vining v. Avis Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc., 354 So.2d 54, 56 (Fla.1977). Where a defendant's conduct creates a foreseeable zone of risk, the law generally will recognize a duty placed upon defendant either to lessen the risk or see that sufficient precautions are taken to protect others from the harm that the risk poses. See Stevens v. Jefferson, 436 So.2d 33, 35 (Fla.1983) (citing Crislip v. Holland, 401 So.2d 1115, 1117 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied sub nom. City of Fort Pierce v. Crislip, 411 So.2d 380 (Fla.1981)).
The Theatre makes a strong argument that, even if it were negligent in the design of its entryway or in the operation of its premises, that negligence did not cause this accident. The sole proximate...
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...determined that a night club had no duty to protect patrons from dangers incidental to parking); Thunderbird Drive-In Theatre, Inc. v. Reed, 571 So.2d 1341, 1343-44 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990) (determining that a jury question was presented as to whether a drive-in theatre was liable for injuries r......
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