Foley Mansfield Team Secures Summary Judgment for Hospitality Client

A Foley Mansfield team consisting of Partner H. Wayne Clark and Attorney Lydia Signorin has successfully secured summary judgment for their client, a hotel operator.

The team filed the motion on behalf of the client, seeking summary judgment in a personal injury lawsuit stemming from an alleged slip and fall incident in a hotel bathtub. In the motion, the team argued that the plaintiff was unable to establish negligence; according to the filing, the bathtub was neither defective nor dangerous, and any risk of slipping was an “open and obvious” condition that should not require a warning. The plaintiff testified that they did not see anything wrong with the tub on the date of the alleged fall, and had showered for approximately 20 minutes prior to the occurrence.

Citing Florida case law, the FM team stated that the hotel had no duty to warn of a condition that is common knowledge – in this case, that water in a bathtub can make the surface slippery, leaving the plaintiff responsible for exercising ordinary care while exiting the tub. As a result, the court granted summary judgment in favor of the team’s client.