Opinion ID: 1149006
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Parking Lot Expansion Joint

Text: In the instant case, the trial court, [2] along with the appellate court, failed to consider the risk-utility balance, but rather merely found that the joint was a defect which caused the fall. Therefore, we must consider the risk-utility balance concurrently with our analysis of whether the fact finder was clearly wrong in reaching its conclusion. The plaintiff tripped and fell on the crack between two of the several concrete blocks which make up the Wal-Mart parking lot. The height variance between the blocks was from ¼ to ½ inch. Notably, the blocks which comprise this parking lot and the expansion joint between them are similar in construction to the sidewalk blocks and joint present in Boyle, 685 So.2d at 1080. Also, both the retail parking lot here and the sidewalk in Boyle were subject to heavy pedestrian traffic. Here, as in Boyle, we are dealing with a relatively small variance, indeed smaller than that in Boyle. The instant variance of ¼ to ½ inch is only half that of the ½ to 1 inch variance in Boyle. Thus, as we characterized the variance in Boyle as a relatively small depression, the defect here is minimal indeed. As previously discussed, one cannot expect paved surfaces of streets, sidewalks, and parking lots to be free of all deviations and defects. Our analysis, however, does not end there. We must also consider the accident history of the defect. Boyle, 685 So.2d at 1083. The instant defect was in a high traffic area with estimates of up to a potential six million pedestrians crossing the defect and, like Boyle, this was the first reported accident. Thus, the risk presented by this joint is in all aspects less hazardous than that addressed in Boyle. Plaintiff asserts that this defect was more hazardous because it was located directly in front of the store where everyone has to pass and where the vehicular traffic is the heaviest. Indeed, plaintiff conceded at oral argument that not every ½ inch crack in the parking lot would be an unreasonable risk of harm, but contended that this one was because of its location right in front of the store. We are unimpressed by this contention primarily because it is based on a false premise. The record, including testimony of the plaintiff's own expert and photographic evidence, reveals that the defect at issue was not located directly in front, but rather 40 yards away down one of the several traffic aisles in the parking lot. The location cannot be accurately characterized as right in front, nor can it be distinguished from the adjacent traffic aisle. Furthermore, our analysis would not be different if the defect had in fact been located in the traffic lane immediately in front of the store. Each patron, save those dropped at the door, must traverse at least one traffic aisle before reaching the area of the parking lot adjacent to the entrance. Given the high overall volume of pedestrian traffic in the lot, we would not find one defect adjacent to the entrance an unreasonable risk of harm, yet find the same defect reasonable simply because it is subject to only a third or fourth the total traffic. As to weighing the social utility and cost of repair, the utility of paved parking lots is clearly apparent as unpaved parking lots would present far more hazards: potholes, wheel ruts, erosion damage, and infinite variations in elevation. As to the specific utility of expansion joints, they are necessary for safety and for maintenance of larger paved surfaces. The expansion joints allow for the concrete to expand and contract as it heats and cools due to weather. Absent the joints, the concrete blocks would contract and subsequently crack and split in the cold. Subjected to heat, the concrete would press against each other, cracking, shifting and buckling, which would produce far more hazardous deviations than the minor ¼ to ½ inch variation at issue here. Additionally, the cost of maintaining such an area would be prohibitive as it would necessitate frequent replacement of the fragmented concrete blocks. The utility of the expansion joint is clear. The cost of repairing the defect is our final consideration. Contrary to the plaintiff's contention that the defect could have easily been remedied for a minimal amount, [3] the cost to eliminate all such minor defects is staggering. Plaintiff's argument incorrectly assumes that the defendant need only have smoothed the joint at issue. Such a contention simplistically overlooks the reality of the situation. A defendant would have to be able to accurately foresee which crack an individual would trip over. Even an elimination of all such elevation deviations in this entire parking lot would fall short of repairing the defect. To avoid liability, this defendant would have to either eliminate all such defects in all of its parking lots and sidewalks or cease doing business. Beyond that, parties having garde of the countless concrete parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, and streets throughout the state would likewise have to smooth such surfaces eliminating all elevation deviations of more than ¼ inch to avoid potential liability. Furthermore, such an enormous expense would not rest with the parties owning the paved surfaces, but rather the cost would be shifted either to the public through taxing in the case of government-owned surfaces or, in the case of privately owned concrete surfaces, to consumers via higher prices in retail or increased fees for contract parking. Beyond the cost of the initial smoothing, maintaining such surfaces free from defects is likely impossible, and is certainly cost-prohibitive. Therefore, given the negligible size of the defect, being even less than that which we considered in Boyle, along with the absence of previous accidents, and because the utility of parking lot expansion joints far outweighs the minimal hazard, and because the cost of repair and maintenance is prohibitive, we find that the instant defect could not present an unreasonable risk of harm and that such a finding was therefore clearly wrong. Conversely, we find that such a defect is entirely reasonable.