Kelley Kronenberg Partner Kaitlin Coyle secured summary judgment in a high-exposure premises liability case in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, eliminating nearly $600,000.00 in medical bill exposure for the client. 

The case involved a slip and fall at a commercial property where the plaintiff alleged she was injured in an area shared between the client’s leased premises and the broader property. Kaitlin took over the file from another firm only months before trial was set to begin. Kaitlin moved aggressively, filing a motion for summary judgment within a week of receiving the case and securing a hearing date before the scheduled trial. 

The motion turned on a threshold legal issue: whether the client owed a duty of care to the plaintiff with respect to the area where the fall occurred. Under Florida law, premises liability turns on possession and control of the subject area, not ownership. CCTV footage of the incident was clear, showing the plaintiff’s fall occurred just outside the client’s controlled space, in an area maintained and operated by another party.  

The Court agreed, finding as a matter of law that the client did not own, maintain, operate, or control the area where the plaintiff fell and therefore owed no duty of care. Because the duty element could not be established, the Court found that no reasonable jury could return a verdict in the plaintiff’s favor and granted final summary judgment in the client’s favor. 

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