Legal Articles

City Owes Duty to Users of Swimming Area

By Patrick Russell, Esq.

Aug 24, 2005 - 5:08:00 PM

The Florida Supreme Court, in the case of Breaux v. City of Miami Beach, SC02-1568 (Fla. 2005), held that the City of Miami Beach owed a duty to exercise reasonable care to the foreseeable users of a swimming area.  In this case, two persons drowned due to rip currents present at a swimming area.  The estates of the deceased sued the City of Miami Beach for negligence in failing to warn of the dangerous condition and not having adequate safety measures in place.  The City of Miami Beach argued that it owed no duty to the deceased because it did not control the swimming area.  Evidence showed that the City did not designate the area as a public beach nor did the City place a lifeguard station at the area. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Florida Supreme Court held that the totality of the circumstances showed that the City was operating a public swimming area despite its own denials of the same.  Evidence showed that the City built beach facilities at the location (restrooms), provided a metered parking lot, and licensed a concessionaire to provide beach chairs and umbrellas at the location.  In this case, the City did more than just merely provide access to the water, the City actually through its actions held the location out to be a public swimming area and thereby had a duty to warn the public of any dangerous conditions of which it knew or should have known.