SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment LLC d/b/a Busch Gardens Tampa Bay v. Abougamal
A twelve-year-old ticketholder at Busch Gardens climbed onto a performance stage and a professional circus trampoline after hours and was seriously injured dismounting; a jury awarded over $8 million (reduced for comparative fault) on an invitee theory. The Second District reversed and directed judgment for Busch Gardens, holding that as a matter of law A.M. exceeded the scope of his invitation when he mounted the stage and trampoline, becoming at most an uninvited licensee, and no evidence showed willful or wanton conduct or discovery of his presence.
Key facts
- Twelve-year-old A.M., a ticketholder at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, climbed onto a performance stage and professional circus trampoline after hours and was seriously injured dismounting.
- A jury awarded over $8 million in damages (reduced for comparative fault) on an invitee liability theory against Busch Gardens.
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Why it matters
A high-value defense reversal that gives premises defendants a clean, citable framework for the 'scope of the invitation' defense — including that a paying ticketholder loses invitee status by entering areas or using… — full analysis with a trial
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