Debra Ratliff v. Mary Christopherson and Sun Communities, Inc., d/b/a Grand Lake RV Resort

Terry D. Dixon and Matthew B. Bernstein (DeLand/Central FL) (Premises Liability) obtained Summary Judgment in the case Debra Ratliff v. Mary Christopherson and Sun Communities, Inc., d/b/a Grand Lake RV Resort. Plaintiff was asked by her neighbor to clean the roof of the neighbor’s RV trailer using a broom and pressure washer.  The Plaintiff claimed that the neighbor simultaneously asked a maintenance employee of Sun Communities, Inc. d/b/a Grand Lake RV Resort to trim the limbs of a tree overhanging the trailer.  At one point while the Plaintiff and the maintenance worker were on the roof together, the Plaintiff grabbed the pressure washer, which caused the pressure washer to break and spray water all over the roof causing her to slip and fall off the roof.  The Plaintiff sued the neighbor and Sun Communities, Inc. for negligence.  Specifically, the Plaintiff claimed Sun Communities, Inc. was negligent in trimming the tree limbs while she was on the roof of the trailer because the sawdust mixed with the water from the pressure washer, creating a dangerous condition.  At her deposition, the Plaintiff testified that had the water from the broken pressure washer not sprayed all over the roof, the sawdust from the trees would not have mixed with the water from the pressure washer and she would not have fallen.  The Court granted Sun Communities, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment after finding that Sun Communities, Inc. did not owe her a duty and there was no proximate cause between her injuries and Sun Communities, Inc.’s actions.