MATTHEW FLEURY, BY AND THROUGH HIS NATURAL PARENTS, DONALD FLEURY AND JOAN FLEURY, AND INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLANTS,
v.
CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH AND LEONARD ANDREW MEYERS, APPELLEES. DONALD FLEURY AND MATTHEW FLEURY, APPELLANTS, V. CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH AND LEONARD ANDREW MEYERS, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1981-04-08
Nos. 79-878, 79-901
LETTS, C. J., and GEIGER, DWIGHT L., Associate Judge,, concur.
396 So. 2d 813 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1981) Caution
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

In this consolidated appeal arising from a motorcycle accident, the Fleurys sought review of judgments in two related cases. The court affirmed the judgment in the Fleurys' favor against the City of Riviera Beach but reversed the City's third-party judgment against the Fleurys, finding that a release given by the injured passenger Meyers to the Fleurys discharged their contribution liability under Florida law.


Holding

The court held that under Florida Statutes section 768.31(5)(b), a release given in good faith to one tortfeasor discharges that tortfeasor from liability for contribution to any other tortfeasor. Therefore, if the Meyers release to the Fleurys was given in good faith, the Fleurys were not liable for contribution on the Meyers judgment. The trial court must properly consider the release through amended pleadings and allow the City to attack the good faith of the settlement.


Headnotes

[1] A release given in good faith to one of two persons liable in tort for the same injury discharges the tortfeasor to whom the release is given from all liability for contr…

[2] A trial court must consider a settlement and release between parties when determining ultimate liability for contribution.

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Key Quotes

“Section 768.31(5)(b), Florida Statutes (1979), provides that a release, given in good faith to one of two persons liable in tort for the same injury, discharges the tortfeasor to whom the release is given from all liability for contribution to any other tortfeasor.”

States the controlling statutory rule establishing that a good faith release eliminates contribution liability.

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Facts & Procedural History

A motorcycle driven by Matthew Fleury, with passenger Leonard Meyers, collided with a City of Riviera Beach police car. Matthew Fleury and his father …

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Opinion of the Court
DOWNEY, Judge.

DOWNEY, Judge.

Appellants, Donald and Matthew Fleury, seek review of two final judgments entered in these cases which arose out of a motorcycle accident.

The accident occurred in the City of Riviera Beach when a City police car collided with a motorcycle driven by Matthew Fleu-ry and on which Leonard Meyers was a passenger. Matthew Fleury and his father, Donald, sued the City of Riviera Beach for Matthew’s injuries. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Fleurys for a total of $3,300, finding that Matthew was 60% negligent and the police officer was 40% negligent. The trial court entered a judgment for the Fleurys in the amount of $1,320, scaling down the damage figure to reflect Matthew’s proportionate share of negligence. Thereupon, the Fleurys filed a notice of appeal.

In the Meyers case, Leonard Meyers sued the City of Riviera Beach for injuries suffered in the collision and the City filed a third party complaint against Donald and Matthew Fleury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Meyers assessing his damages at $48,800. While the jury was deliberating, counsel for the Fleurys and Meyers advised the trial judge and opposing counsel that Meyers had given the Fleurys a release in consideration for $5,000, thus settling their claim. Counsel suggested the court should take that release into consideration in its ultimate resolution of claims between the parties, and, if it was necessary, counsel for the Fleurys requested leave to amend their pleadings to reflect the release. No amendment was allowed and the trial court ultimately entered judgment for the City of Riviera Beach for $29,2801 on its third party complaint.

In these consolidated appeals appellants-Fleurys contend the trial court committed several errors in instructing the jury and in entering final judgment for contribution against the Fleurys in favor of the City of Riviera Beach. We have studied the briefs and record and find no reversible error demonstrated in the judgment in favor of the Fleurys on their claim against the City. However, we do find error in the judgment in favor of the City of Riviera Beach on their claim of contribution against the Fleu-rys, which requires further consideration of the case.

Section 768.31(5)(b), Florida Statutes (1979), provides that a release, given in good faith to one of two persons liable in tort for the same injury, discharges the tortfeasor to whom the release is given from all liability for contribution to any other tortfeasor. Martinez v. Gonzalez, 368 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1979); Hester v. Gatlin, 332 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). Thus, it seems clear to us that, if the release given by Meyers to the Fleurys was given in good faith, the Fleurys were not liable to the City of Riviera Beach for contribution on the Meyers judgment.

As earlier indicated, the settlement and release between Meyers and the Fleurys was reached during the jury’s deliberations. The parties discussed the release with the court but in view of the time factor the effect of the release was never properly considered. Therefore, we believe the release should be presented to the trial court by amended pleadings which will also allow the City of Riviera Beach to attack the good faith of the release by appropriate pleading. The trial court can then try any issue raised by those pleadings and with the arguments of both parties before it can then consider the effect of the release and enter such final judgment on the third party complaint as it finds appropriate.

Accordingly, the judgment in favor of the Fleurys in Case No. 79-878 is affirmed. The judgment in favor of the City of Riviera Beach in Case No. 79-901 is reversed and that cause is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

LETTS, C. J., and GEIGER, DWIGHT L., Associate Judge,, concur. . Fleury was found 60% negligent, thus his contribution to the Meyers verdict was $29,280.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Dionese v. City OF W. Palm Beach, 500 So. 2d 1347 (Fla. 1987)
    …were we to allow a $35,000/$10,000 apportionment of the proceeds, the settling defendant might be subjected to a claim of bad faith settlement and be forced to defend a claim of contribution brought by the City. See Fleury v. City of Riviera Beach, 396 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). In fact, at a post-trial hearing, counsel for the settling defendants testified that fear of a contribution claim led him to reject attempts by the Dioneses to disproportionately apportion the settlement agreement. ■ The non-se…
  • Dionese v. City OF W. Palm Beach, 485 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
    …s (1983). In addition, while a joint tort-feasor may be required to defend the merits and substance of the terms of a settlement entered into knowingly and intentionally with a claimant as determined by this court in Fleury v. City of Riviera Beach, 396 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), the situation in the present case, which would require a set [*1364] tling tort-feasor to defend the terms of a settlement based upon a private unilateral apportionment by claimants where the settling tort-feasor did not partici…
  • Concrete Scis., Inc. v. Bassett, 449 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
    …PER CURIAM. Reversed on the authority of Fleury v. City of Riviera Beach, 396 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Fleury contemplates that a joint tortfeasor who seeks to utilize a settlement and release from the injured party as a defense to a contribution claim be required to plead the settlement and release and that the other tortfeasor…

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