Summary Judgment Affirmed: Palm Beach County, FL (Premises Liability)

West Palm Beach partner Nicholas Seamster and associate Anthony Crum recently had a summary judgment ruling affirmed by the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal.

The underlying case involved a slip and fall at a Publix Super Markets location in Palm Beach County in 2019. Plaintiff alleged that she slipped in a large puddle of water, and further alleged that the puddle had been left by another customer’s child 17 minutes prior to her fall. Video footage of the incident showed no evidence of any definitive source of spilled water, and also showed a store employee in the vicinity of the area as well as numerous customers walking through the area of the alleged puddle without incident prior to Plaintiff’s fall. Further, the Plaintiff could not rule out that the source of the water was due to a customer with a tipped over water bottle in their cart approximately one minute prior to the Plaintiff’s fall.

Plaintiff claimed multiple injuries to her knee, neck, back, and groin as a result of the incident. She underwent multiple rounds of injections, two extensive lumbar surgeries, and a hernia surgery following her fall, with claimed medical bills in excess of $1.2 million.

We moved for summary judgment based on Publix’s lack of actual or constructive notice of the alleged dangerous condition. The trial court agreed, and summary judgment was granted in May 2023. Plaintiff timely appealed, and the matter came before the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal for oral argument in early October 2024. After hearing arguments of counsel, the Court issued a per curiam affirmance on October 11.

Congratulations Nick and Anthony on this excellent outcome.