No Duty Owed: Premises Liability and Pedestrian Use of Drive-Through Lanes

In a premises liability case, the plaintiff alleged she suffered injuries after slipping on an oil slick while walking to an ATM designed for drive-through use. However, under Florida law, the defendant had no duty to ensure pedestrian safety in an area intended solely for vehicular traffic. As a result, the court granted summary judgment, reinforcing the principle that landowners are not liable for injuries occurring from unintended uses of their premises.

The plaintiff, a customer, brought a premises liability action against the defendant after she allegedly slipped and fell. The plaintiff feared that her sport utility vehicle (SUV) was too large for the roadway lane provided for vehicular traffic at the ATM, so she parked her SUV and walked up to the ATM. As she approached the ATM from the drive-through roadway, she slipped—supposedly on an oil slick—fell, and claimed to have suffered injuries as a result.

Florida Statute 768.0755 (Premises liability for transitory foreign substances in a business establishment), by its own terms, does not create any duty of care. At common law, the defendant owed no duty to the plaintiff with regard to her access to the ATM as a pedestrian, as explained above. She proceeded at her own risk, and the law does not expect the defendant to act as an insurer for accidental injuries suffered when a person engages in an unintended use of the premises—a use exceeding the scope of the defendant’s invitation. Because there was no duty, there could be no breach and, therefore, no cause of action for negligence as pleaded by the plaintiff. The defendant was entitled to dismissal of the suit with prejudice, which the summary judgment on review effected.

This case illustrates that a landowner has no liability for falls that occur when invitees walk on surfaces not designed for pedestrian use. 

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