Summary Judgment: Palm Beach County, Florida (Premises Liability)

West Palm Beach Partner, Nicholas S. Seamster, and Associate, Ryan Denish, recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of a large Florida-based grocery store in a slip and fall case in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Plaintiff in this case slipped on an unknown substance in the soap and detergent aisle. She claimed injuries to her left foot, right knee, and right hand.

Store employees doing routine area checks testified that they didn’t notice anything on the floor during multiple passes through the subject area minutes before the fall, and video surveillance showed several customers moving through the aisle where Plaintiff’s fall occurred without incident. Based on this evidence, we moved for summary judgment arguing that the substance in question could not have been on the floor for more than about 55 seconds, and as such, the grocery store would not have had actual or constructive knowledge of the potentially dangerous condition. The court agreed, and summary judgment was granted.

Congratulations to Ryan, who wrote and argued this motion, and to Nicholas, who supervised the handling of this file.