Massaua v. Cervelli (consolidated with Allen v. Cervelli)
The Second DCA reversed summary judgment for the restaurant defendants in a negligent-transmission-of-a-contagious-disease case, holding that the trial court defined the business's duty too narrowly and improperly conflated duty with proximate cause. The duty and knowledge inquiry turns on constructive knowledge that an employee had a contagious disease — not the specific disease (TB) — and the record raised jury questions on duty, causation, and the court's impermissible weighing of evidence.
Key facts
- Two restaurant patrons (Massaua and Allen) independently dined at Casa Ludovico in late 2016 and were later diagnosed with tuberculosis; a server, Visoiu, had a heavy, visible cough and appeared sickly for nearly three months while serving customers and handling food before being diagnosed with TB.
- Co-workers testified Visoiu 'was clearly unhealthy' for weeks and that the manager (Cervelli) knew he was sick; after the TB diagnosis, Cervelli allegedly told staff not to tell anyone and initially refused a Department of Health inspection.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Holdings
- A business owes invitees a duty defined by the foreseeable 'zone of risk'; for negligent transmission of a contagious disease, the plaintiff need only show the business had actual or…
- +1 more holding with a free trial
Why it matters
This is an important premises-liability decision for both personal-injury and defense practitioners handling infectious-disease exposure claims (COVID-19, TB, and other communicable illnesses in restaurants, workplaces… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.