ST. CLOUD UTILITIES, APPELLANT,
v.
ERICK S. MOORE, A MINOR, ETC., ET AL, APPELLEES

Fla. 5th DCA | 1982-03-10
No. 81-513
DAUKSCH, C. J., and COWART, J., concur.
410 So. 2d 973 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1982) Caution
Cited by 25 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

St. Cloud Utilities paid a final judgment against multiple tortfeasors and sought contribution from a co-defendant over a year later. The court held that a motion for contribution under Florida's Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act must be filed within the trial court's jurisdiction, which ends shortly after the final judgment is rendered, and affirmed the dismissal of the late-filed motion.


Holding

A motion for contribution must be filed in the original action within the period that the trial court maintains jurisdiction over the case. The trial court loses jurisdiction shortly after the final judgment is rendered, and therefore a motion for contribution filed more than one year after the judgment became final is untimely and must be dismissed.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court loses jurisdiction to entertain a motion for contribution under the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act when the time for filing a motion for reheari…

[2] A motion for contribution filed in the original action must be filed within the period of the trial court's jurisdiction.

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Key Quotes

“When a judgment has been entered in an action against two or more tortfeasors for the same injury or wrongful death, contribution may be enforced in that action by judgment in favor of one against other judgment defendants, by motion upon notice to ail parties to the action.”

The statutory provision governing contribution motions in the original action under section 768.31(4)(b); establishes that contribution can be sought by motion but does not specify a time limit.

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Facts & Procedural History

St. Cloud Utilities and Erick S. Moore were among defendants held liable for damages in a final judgment entered October 13, 1978. On October 5, 1979,…

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Opinion of the Court
ORFINGER, Judge.

ORFINGER, Judge.

The issue presented by this appeal is how long the trial court continues to have jurisdiction to entertain a motion for contribution under section 768.31(4) of Florida Statutes (1979), the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, after the final judgment determining liability is rendered.

Appellant and appellee were among defendants held liable for damages in a corrected final judgment entered October 13, 1978. On October 5, 1979, appellant paid the entire final judgment and on April 4, 1980, appellant filed a motion in the original action seeking contribution from appel-lee. The order appealed from struck the motion for contribution on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it. We affirm.

The trial court relied on Johns-Manville Sales Corporation v. The Zack Company, 374 So. 2d 1150 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), which simply held that contribution under the statute must be sought either by a motion filed in the original action within thirty days of the rendition of the judgment for the plaintiff, or by a separate action commenced within one year of the rendition of the final judgment for plaintiff, if the mov ing party has not appealed.1 While the statute prescribes a time limitation within which to file a separate action where a judgment has been entered against the tort feasor seeking contribution,2 no time is specified within which a motion for contribution may be filed. Section 768.31(4)(b) states:

When a judgment has been entered in an action against two or more tortfeasors for the same injury or wrongful death, contribution may be enforced in that action by judgment in favor of one against other judgment defendants, by motion upon notice to ail parties to the action. (emphasis added).

The Zack court in holding that such motion must be filed in the original action within thirty days of the rendition of the final judgment, undoubtedly considered that trial court jurisdiction continued during that 30-day period. Whether we agree with that statement or believe that the jurisdiction of the trial court ends at an earlier date is not essential to our decision,3 because the motion was filed long after the thirty-day period had expired, but we do agree that the trial court must have jurisdiction or it cannot consider the motion for contribution. Here, the motion was filed more than one year after the judgment became final, and under any view, the trial court jurisdiction had ended.

Since the trial court had lost jurisdiction of the action, there was no error in striking the motion. The order appealed from is

AFFIRMED.

DAUKSCH, C. J., and COWART, J., concur. . No facts are stated in Zack, so we cannot determine which of the two alternative procedures were involved there. Sub judice, since contribution was sought by motion filed in the original action, we do not discuss any issue which might be raised with regard to the filing of a separate action for contribution, and specifically, when the right to file such action terminates.

. § 768.3l(4)(c), Fla.Stat. (1979):

If there is a judgment for the injury or wrongful death against the tortfeasor seeking contribution, any separate action by him to enforce contribution must be commenced within one year after the judgment has become final by lapse of time for appeal or after appellate review.

. The Zack court may have extended the jurisdiction of the trial court for thirty days following rendition of the final judgment because of the language in section 768.3 1(4)(c) which permits the filing of a separate action for contribution within one year after the judgment has become final by lapse of time for appeal or after appellate review. No similar language is contained in section 768.3 1(4)(b). Additionally, the Supreme Court has already dispelled the notion that the time within which an appeal may be taken from a final judgment has anything to do with continued jurisdiction of the trial court. Shelby Mutual Insurance Company of Shelby, Ohio, v. Pearson, 236 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1970). The trial court loses jurisdiction, except to enforce the judgment and except as provided by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, when the time for filing a motion for rehearing or new trial has expired, or if such motion has been timely filed, when it is ruled upon. Shelby; The Kippy Corp. v. Colburn, 177 So. 2d 193 (Fla.1965).


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Citator

Cited By (13 total)

  • Francisco v. Victoria Marine Shipping, Inc., 486 So. 2d 1386 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
    …on of the motion. The trial court thereafter loses jurisdiction except to enforce the judgment and except as provided by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540.3 Pruitt v. Brock, 437 So. 2d 768, 773. (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); St. Cloud Utilities v. Moore, 410 So. 2d 973, 974 n. 3 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). The rules which provide for the correction of error are designed to strike a balance between two competing goals: “[FJirst, that justice be as exact and as free from error as human fallibility of judgment permits; and…
  • Pruitt v. Brock, 437 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
    …ce the judgment and except as provided by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, when the time for filing a motion for rehearing or new trial has expired, or if such motion has been timely filed, when it is ruled upon. St. Cloud Utilities v. Moore, 410 So. 2d 973, 974 n. 3 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982) (e.s.). The purpose of this third mechanism is a limited one — it is designed to provide relief from judgments, decrees or orders under a limited set of circumstances; it was neither intended to serve as a substitute f…
  • …trial court was not ruling on a motion filed under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order at issue. See Pruitt v. Brock, 437 So. 2d 768, 773 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (quoting St. Cloud Utilities v. Moore, 410 So. 2d 973, 974 n. 3 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)). Accordingly, we QUASH the order on appeal, leaving the final judgment of foreclosure undisturbed.…

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