Slavin Doctrine: Part III

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The Slavin doctrine emerged from the Florida Supreme Court case Slavin v. Kay, 108 So.2d 462 (Fla. 1958).  In Slavin, the plaintiff was injured in a motel as a result of a sink detaching from the bathroom wall and falling on the plaintiff.  The plaintiff sued the motel owner and the contractor that installed the sink seeking compensation for the injuries the plaintiff suffered.  Although the court recognized that a contractor may be relieved of liability for injuries to third parties occurring after the owner has accepted a project, the court also stated that the contractor would only be relieved of liability if the owner could have discovered and remedied the dangerous condition.  In other words, the condition must be discoverable rather than latent for the contractor to avoid liability.  The Slavin court found that the sink’s defective condition was hidden from ordinary observation and was therefore a latent defect, and held that the contractor could be held liable for the plaintiff’s damages.

Trenton H. Cotney
Florida Bar Certified in Construction Law
Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, P.A.
100 S. Ashley Dr., Suite 1300
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 229-3333
http://www.glennrasmussen.com
Location: 100 S Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602, USA

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