Here’s what happened:
Joseph (Jobie) McCabe, Jr., a minor, by and through his mother, Jayne Flanigan, filed a lawsuit to recover damages for personal injuries received when Jobie fell over a low railing while engaged in “horseplay” with several friends while inside an attraction at Disney World known as the “Haunted Mansion.” Jobie, then aged 15, and several friends, all of whom were participants in an all-day excursion to Disney World sponsored by Plantation High School, voluntarily left the small cars used to transport passengers through the attraction despite a recorded warning not to do so and were engaged in boisterous conduct along the route traveled by these small cars. In an area known as the “seance circle,” Jobie went over a low wall that separated the staged scene from the route traveled by the cars, fell fifteen feet to a concrete floor below and was severely injured. After lengthy litigation, including exhaustive discovery, the trial court, entered a judgment in favor of Disney on the ground that Jobie was the sole cause of his injuries received.
Thereafter, the plaintiff filed an appeal and the appellate court held:
the questions of the negligence of the Disney and the comparative negligence of the Plaintiff are material issues of fact which exist so as to preclude entry of summary judgment. Accordingly, the summary final judgment in favor of Disney is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with the views herein expressed.
Quick Answer: This issue should have been decided by a jury based on whether or not Disney was negligent and if the injured party was contributorily negligent.
See: McCabe v. Walt Disney World Co., 350 So. 2d 814
Related:
How to Prove a Slip and Fall Claim at Disney World in 2023
Case Examples of Successful Disney Injury Lawsuits
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