Tampa, Fla. (August 15, 2025) - Tampa Partner Nicholas Dareneau recently obtained summary judgment for a property owner client in a trip-and-fall lawsuit, with a Florida judge finding that the condition of the sidewalk over which the plaintiff tripped was not dangerous as a matter of law.
The incident in question occurred in December 2022, as the plaintiff was walking to the entrance of a retail store on the client's property. She stepped up onto the sidewalk, walked across pavers and then tripped on a section of concrete, suffering injuries. She proceeded to sue Lewis Brisbois' property owner client and the store in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County. Ultimately, the plaintiff dropped the store owner from the lawsuit.
In the motion for summary judgment he filed on behalf of the property owner, Mr. Dareneau pointed out that the difference in elevation between the pavers and the concrete surface ranged from zero inches to 1/4 of an inch. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, changes in level between surfaces can be up to 1/4 of an inch without requiring treatment.
Circuit Court Judge Amy M. Williams agreed in a brief one-page ruling issued on August 14, 2025, holding that the "change in elevation between the pavers and sidewalk was not dangerous as a matter of law" and therefore the property owner client "did not breach either its duty to maintain the sidewalk free of dangerous conditions or its duty to warn plaintiff of a hidden dangerous condition on its property."