A recent decision from the Second District Court of Appeal addressed an important principle of Florida premises liability law: a visitor’s status is not necessarily fixed upon entering a property. Rather, a visitor’s status may change depending on where the visitor goes and what the visitor is doing at the time of injury. In SeaWorld Parks & Entm't LLC v. Abougamal, No. 2D2025-0588, 2026 WL 2651402 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 9, 2026), the minor plaintiff entered Busch Gardens as a ticketed business invitee and was permitted to enter a theater within the park. He later climbed onto a performance stage and a professional circus trampoline that was not intended for guest use and was injured while jumping off the trampoline. The Second District held that, by going beyond the scope of Busch Gardens’ invitation and using the area for his own entertainment, the plaintiff became, at most, an uninvited licensee at the time of injury. The visitor’s status at the time and place of injury matters because that status determines the duty owed by the landowner. While business invitees are owed a heightened duty of reasonable care, the duty owed to an uninvited licensee is lessened to avoid willful or wanton harm and, upon discovery of the licensee’s presence, to warn of known dangers not open to ordinary observation. Because there was no evidence that Busch Gardens breached this lesser duty, the Second District reversed the judgment for the plaintiff and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of Busch Gardens.

Pennington is proud to congratulate our own Madeline Huggins on being named to the U.S. National Swim Team! Maddy is a graduate of Florida State University and former member of the FSU swim team. She now continues to train professionally at Florida State while also working as a legal assistant with the firm. Her selection to the U.S. National Team reflects an extraordinary level of dedication, discipline, and athletic achievement. Balancing the demands of professional training with her work at the firm makes the accomplishment even more impressive. Those who work with Maddy know the focus, energy, and determination she brings to everything she does. We are proud to have her as part of the Pennington team and excited to see her accomplishments recognized on the national stage. Congratulations, Maddy. We look forward to cheering you on and seeing what comes next!!