Plaintiff was stabbed, beaten and robbed while washing his car at a self-service car wash around 8:00 p.m. on a March evening. He brought this suit against the car wash for failing to provide adequate security and failing to warn customers about criminal activity on its property and in the area. The jury found the defendant negligent, but also found plaintiff comparatively negligent, and plaintiff appeals, arguing that the issue of comparative negligence should not have been submitted to the jury, or in the alternative, the comparative negligence finding was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.

The car wash, on U.S. 1 in Vero Beach, had no employees or security personnel on the premises at the time of the incident. The owner, who admitted having knowledge of three or four prior attacks on the premises, including a stabbing/robbery five days before the attack on plaintiff, does not contest on this appeal that there was sufficient notice of crime from which the jury could have found the defendant negligent.

Plaintiff complains about the finding of comparative negligence, arguing that there was no evidence that plaintiff had actual knowledge of criminal activity of the type which befell him at the car wash. Plaintiff had lived in Vero Beach for over twenty years and had been to the car wash, which was on a main thoroughfare, approximately thirty times.

Do you think there was evidence from which the jury could find the plaintiff comparatively negligent? If so, what percent?