Daniel W. Ostrander, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Parkland Villa Apartments, Defendants-Appellees, et al., 511 So. 2d 1293

Summary

A lessee slipped and fell on a wet, steep metal stairway outside his second floor apartment. The court reversed the judgment granting the motion of the lessor and its insurer for summary judgment and remanded the matter. The court held that the exculpatory language in the lease exempting the lessor from liability for injuries suffered by the lessee on the leased premises did not absolve the lessor from liability for an injury suffered on a stairway, which was not part of the leased premises but was a common accessory of the lessee's apartment. The court held that even if the exculpatory covered an injury occurring on the stairway, the lessee's petition and affidavit in opposition, which alleged that the lessee failed to repair the stairs when it was notified that they needed repair, raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the lessor knew or should have known of the alleged defect in the stairway.