Appellate Court Reinstates Negligence Claim in Tropicana Field Injury Case

Brannock Berman & Seider secured a significant appellate win in Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal on behalf of a plaintiff injured at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, reversing a trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of a stadium security contractor.

The case arose after the firm’s client tripped and fell while exiting the stadium, catching her foot on a metal battery case—approximately the size of a shoebox—that a security guard had placed in a busy rotunda walkway and left unattended. Although the contractor admitted responsibility for maintaining the area, the trial court ruled that the condition was “open and obvious” and not dangerous as a matter of law, entering judgment against the plaintiff.

On appeal, Brannock Berman & Seider argued that the trial court improperly collapsed two distinct duties under Florida premises liability law: the duty to warn and the duty to maintain property in a reasonably safe condition. The Second District agreed. While affirming that the battery case was open and obvious—eliminating any duty to warn—the court adopted the firm’s argument that this did not resolve the separate question of whether the defendant failed to safely maintain the premises.

Emphasizing long-standing Florida precedent, the appellate court held that even obvious hazards can give rise to liability where injury is reasonably foreseeable. Here, a security employee placed a six-inch-high metal case directly in a stadium walkway used by patrons, left it there without explanation, and walked away—conduct the appellate court found could support a jury determination that the premises were not maintained in a reasonably safe condition.

This decision restores the plaintiff’s case for trial and reinforces an important principle in Florida law: property owners and operators cannot avoid liability simply because a hazard is visible where the risk of harm remains foreseeable.