Wilson v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 08 April 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-194,79-194 |
| Citation | 382 So.2d 773 |
| Parties | Michael James WILSON et al., Appellants, v. Francis WILSON et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Horton, Perse & Ginsberg and Arnold R. Ginsberg, Miami, Cohen & Cohen, Miami Beach, for appellants.
Stephens, Schwartz, Lynn & Chernay and Robert M. Klein, Miami, for appellees.
Before NESBITT and BASKIN, JJ., and CHARLES A. CARROLL (Ret.), Associate Judge.
Appellants seek review of a directed verdict in favor of appellees entered by the trial court after the jury returned a verdict in favor of appellants.
Michael Wilson, a minor, was severely burned when he and some other children ignited gasoline. Claiming that the gasoline had been obtained from a neighbor's garage, Michael and his mother filed suit against both the owners and the occupants of the neighboring property. 1 Appellants alleged that storing gasoline in an areas accessible to children constituted negligence causing Michael's injuries.
A default judgment was entered against the tenants, but the case proceeded to a jury trial on the question of the landlords' liability and on the amount of damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of appellants finding that the minor's negligence contributed 75% and the landlords' negligence contributed 25% resulting in an award to the minor of $29,000 and $4,000 to his mother. The trial court then directed a verdict against appellants. We find no error in the decision of the trial court.
Although appellants contend the jury verdict was supported by evidence, testimony discloses that the landlords had no knowledge that gasoline was stored on the premises formerly lived in by them and subsequent rented to the tenants. Although they may have left some of their possessions in the garage, nothing indicated that the landlords stored gasoline in the garage annexed to the house. Michael was eight years old at the time of the incident. He was playing with the tenants' children at their home when someone obtained gasoline from a gray can in the garage. The gasoline was then poured into a red cup and brought outside. He did not remember who obtained the gasoline or who poured it into the cup and ignited it. He stated that the gasoline could have come from another neighbor's home. The landlords stated they never stored any gasoline in the garage. Tenant Ed Wilson testified that he could not remember if he had ever stored gasoline in the garage. His wife indicated that there might have been some gasoline in the garage for the lawn mower. The evidence in the record is insufficient to support a jury verdict for appellants.
A landlord may be liable to third persons for injuries caused by defects in the leased premises. If premises are leased containing an...
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Fitzgerald v. Cestari, 88-0834
...the landlord had knowledge, either actual or constructive, of the dangerous condition existing on the premises. See Wilson v. Wilson, 382 So.2d 773 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Although Fitzgerald cites to Florida cases which he claims stand for the proposition that cases involving sliding glass doo......
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Frazier v. Pozzi, 3D01-1842.
...and Edward W. Horan (Key West), for appellees. Before LEVY, GERSTEN, and GODERICH, JJ. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Wilson v. Wilson, 382 So.2d 773 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Sadowsky v. Levine, 135 So.2d 776 (Fla. 3d DCA ...