It is unlikely that Sandy Banks will be able to recover damages from Faneuil Hall. There are three reasons why a court will not hold Faneuil Hall liable for negligence. First, the discolored banana peel may have been dropped by another customer. Second, there weren’t any Faneuil Hall employees present at the time of the incident. Third, because the incident occurred after the employees cleaned and there wasn’t a recent inspection, Faneuil Hall couldn’t have reasonably discovered the banana peel. Citing Massachusetts case law, a defendant may be held liable for negligence when failing to remove a banana peel if its appearance shows that it had been on the floor for a long period of time and either an employee of the defendant was present, the defendant should have reasonably discovered it by a recent inspection, or nobody else could have placed it there. Goddard v. Boston & Me. R.R. Co., 60 N.E. 486 (Mass. 1901); Anjou v. Boston Elevated Ry. Co., 94 N.E. 386 (Mass. 1911); Mascary v. Boston Elevated Ry. Co., 155 N.E. 637 (Mass. 1927); and Scaccia v. Boston Elevated Ry. Co., 57 N.E.2d 761, 765 (Mass. 1944).
In Goddard, the facts exhibit evidence that there were multiple passengers on …show more content…
As in Mascary and Goddard, the fact that the peel might have been dropped by a recent visitor was enough to dismiss negligence on behalf of the property owner. The mere presence of a banana peel on the floor does not mean that the owner was negligent even is the peel is discolored and leathery. In the circumstances surrounding Banks’ situation, it is completely possible that somebody could have visited Faneuil Hall outside their normal hours of operation, just like Sandy did. Furthermore, it is plausible that this visitor could have eaten a banana and left the peel after the custodians had done their duties of cleaning and sweeping the
In Goddard, the facts exhibit evidence that there were multiple passengers on …show more content…
As in Mascary and Goddard, the fact that the peel might have been dropped by a recent visitor was enough to dismiss negligence on behalf of the property owner. The mere presence of a banana peel on the floor does not mean that the owner was negligent even is the peel is discolored and leathery. In the circumstances surrounding Banks’ situation, it is completely possible that somebody could have visited Faneuil Hall outside their normal hours of operation, just like Sandy did. Furthermore, it is plausible that this visitor could have eaten a banana and left the peel after the custodians had done their duties of cleaning and sweeping the