Wednesday, February 9, 2000
Ileana Whitt v. Ignacio Urbieta

No. 95,533

Place of Origin
Dade County

Facts
Ilia Fotinov was killed and his wife Yordanka Fotinova seriously injured by a car exiting a service station owned by Urbieta as they walked on a sidewalk. The personal representative of Fotinov's estate and Fotinova sued in part on grounds that a dense growth of foliage on the service station property prevented drivers from seeing pedestrians. The trial court dismissed based on the common law concept that property owners should not be held liable for "purely natural" conditions existing on their property. The Third District affirmed on this issue.