Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Guenther, WINN-DIXIE
| Decision Date | 10 March 1981 |
| Docket Number | WINN-DIXIE,No. 80-1323,80-1323 |
| Citation | 395 So.2d 244 |
| Parties | STORES, INC., Appellant, v. Harry GUENTHER and Audrey Guenther, his wife, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Vernis, Bowling, West, Montalto & Goodman and Bradley P. Goodman, Fort Lauderdale, for appellant.
Krupnick & Campbell and Richard A. Barnett, Fort Lauderdale, for appellees.
Before HENDRY and DANIEL S. PEARSON, and FERGUSON, JJ.
Appellant Winn-Dixie, the defendant below, seeks review of an adverse judgment entered pursuant to a jury verdict awarding the Guenther's damages in this negligence action.
While shopping in appellant's store with his wife and daughter, Mr. Guenther slipped on a clear liquid substance, fell, and injured his knee. There was no evidence submitted as to how the liquid got on the floor nor how long it had been there. Testimony from Mr. Guenther's wife and daughter established, however, that the liquid, which made a puddle about three feet long, appeared dirty and had scuff marks and several grocery cart tracks running through it. It was also brought out at trial that the store manager occupied an elevated platform within the store and that by looking at the spot where the appellee fell, would have been able to see the liquid. In rebuttal, appellant introduced evidence that the floor was swept and mopped several times a day as necessary. At the close of all the evidence, appellant moved for a directed verdict on the issue of liability. The trial judge reserved ruling on the motion, allowing the case to go to the jury. After a jury verdict was rendered for the appellees, appellant moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. This motion too was denied, and this appeal followed.
Appellant's sole contention on review is that the motion for directed verdict should have been granted because there was insufficient evidence of negligence to submit the case to the jury. We disagree.
This court, in Gaidymowicz v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 371 So.2d 212, 213 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), reiterated the law with respect to slip and fall cases:
the well established general rule is that the owner of the premises will not be held liable if the record fails to show either how the condition was created, the length of time the condition existed before the accident or that the store owner was responsible for the condition.
The evidence is insufficient to establish liability under this standard; however, we find that the instant case falls within the rule's recognized exception:
the owner of the store may be held liable for a customer's injuries if the dangerous condition on the floor existed for a sufficient length of time to charge the defendant owner with constructive knowledge. (e. s.)
Proof that the condition existed long enough so that it should have been...
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Nance v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 82-1153
...1093 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Burmeister v. American Motorists Insurance Co., 403 So.2d 541 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Guenther, 395 So.2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Gaidymowicz v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 371 So.2d 212 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Marlowe v. Food Fair Stores of Florida......
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Torres v. Wal-Mart Stores E., L.P.
...of dirt, scuffing, or tracks in a substance generates sufficient inferences of constructive notice."); Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Guenther , 395 So. 2d 244, 246 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) ("Here, testimony that the liquid was dirty and scuffed and had several tracks running through it was, in our o......
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Garcia v. Wal-Mart Stores E., L.P.
...(constructive knowledge inferred from water that appeared "slimy" and exhibited grocery cart tracks); Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Guenther, 395 So. 2d 244, 246 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1981) (constructive knowledge inferred from dirty water showing grocery cart tracks and scuff marks); Grizzard ......
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Soriano v. B & B Cash Grocery Stores, Inc.
...through it); Camina v. Parliament Ins. Co., 417 So.2d 1093 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)(thawed dirty ice cream); Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Guenther, 395 So.2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)(puddle with scuff marks and tracks); with Broz v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 546 So.2d 83 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)(no evidence......