Kelley Kronenberg Partner/Business Unit Leader Aaron Neifeld and Attorney Ryleigh Walaconis secured a complete summary judgment victory for their motorsports facility client in Orange County Circuit Court, eliminating $5,000,000.00 in exposure from a premises liability claim involving serious injuries. 

The case arose from an October 23, 2021 incident at a racetrack facility where an underaged minor attended an event with her parents, obtained a golf cart, and drove it negligently, colliding with the plaintiff and causing multiple fractures requiring surgeries to her lower leg. The plaintiff filed suit seeking $5,000,000.00 in damages, alleging the facility “permitted” the minor to drive the golf cart on its premises. 

Aaron and Ryleigh developed a comprehensive defense strategy targeting the fundamental elements of the plaintiff’s negligence claim. Their investigation established a critical fact: the motorsports facility did not own, control, or provide the golf cart involved in the accident. This became the cornerstone of their summary judgment motion. 

The defense team filed their motion on June 25, 2025, arguing three dispositive grounds: (1) no action or inaction by the facility was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries; (2) no evidence showed the facility owned or provided the golf cart; and (3) the facility had no notice of any dangerous condition and therefore no opportunity to prevent the accident. 

Opposing counsel from a prominent plaintiff’s firm filed a response on August 4, 2025, but critically failed to submit any affidavit or declaration pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(d) to establish disputed facts. 

At the September 18, 2025 hearing before Judge Michael Deen, Aaron and Ryleigh demonstrated that even assuming the facility breached its internal policy prohibiting minors under sixteen from driving golf carts, internal policies alone do not create or define the duty owed to a plaintiff under Florida law. 

Most importantly, they established that the plaintiff presented no testimony or evidence proving the facility permitted the minor to operate the cart. Additionally, they showed no evidence that the facility or its employees knew or should have known the minor was driving the golf cart, or that such conduct occurred with sufficient frequency to place the facility on constructive notice of a dangerous condition. 

Judge Deen agreed with the defense arguments and granted summary judgment, finding no genuine issue of material fact existed and that the facility was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Court entered final summary judgment dismissing Count I with prejudice and retained jurisdiction for 90 days to hear any motions for attorney’s fees or costs. 

This victory demonstrates the critical importance of establishing causation and notice elements in premises liability cases, particularly when third-party conduct causes injury on commercial property. The case reinforces that facility owners cannot be held liable for injuries caused by equipment they neither owned nor controlled, absent evidence of actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition. 

Stay up to date on the latest developments in general liability and third-party insurance. Click here to read the latest issue of our newsletter, “In the Know: General Liability Edition.”   

Learn more about Kelley Kronenberg’s General Liability and Third-Party Insurance Defense Division. Click here.