SCHWIND HARVESTING AND FLORIDA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
ELIGIA BOATMAN, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1983-01-07
No. AM-195
LARRY G. SMITH, SHAW and JOA-NOS, JJ., concur.
424 So. 2d 948 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1983) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

An employer and insurer appealed a workers' compensation wage loss award that was based partly on a claimant's deposition rather than live testimony at the final hearing. The court reversed, holding that the deputy commissioner erred in admitting the deposition without satisfying the requirements of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330.


Holding

The deputy commissioner erred in admitting the claimant's deposition into evidence. None of the enumerated circumstances in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330(a)(3) justified use of the deposition, and the wage loss award cannot be upheld without competent substantial evidence to support it.


Headnotes

[1] A deposition may be used in lieu of live testimony only when specific circumstances enumerated in the rules of civil procedure are met.

[2] A party seeking to use a deposition due to exceptional circumstances must comply with application and notice provisions.

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Key Quotes

“The proper use of depositions in court proceedings is governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330. Subsection (a)(3) sets forth circumstances which justify the use of a deposition when a witness is unable to attend a court proceeding or to testify in the proceeding.”

Establishes the controlling legal standard for admission of depositions in lieu of live testimony

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Facts & Procedural History

Eligia Boatman suffered a compensable foot injury when he fell from a fruit tree on December 9, 1979. Dr. Flynn evaluated him in October 1981 and assi…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The employer/carrier appeal the deputy commissioner’s award of wage loss based in part upon the deposition of the claimant who did not attend the final hearing. Claimant suffered a compensable injury to his foot when he fell from a fruit tree on December 9, 1979. Dr. Flynn evaluated him in October of 1981 and assigned a 5-7% residual disability. Subsequently claimant found employment working twenty-seven hours per week. It was the position of the employer/carrier at the final hearing that claimant should find work to make up the difference between the twenty-seven hours and a full forty-hour work week.

According to the unsworn testimony of the claimant’s attorney, claimant did not attend the final hearing because he feared he would be fired from his job if he took time off. The deputy allowed into evidence, over objection, the deposition of the claimant which became the basis for the wage loss award.

We find the challenge of the employer/carrier well taken. The proper use of depositions in court proceedings is governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330. Subsection (a)(3) sets forth circumstances which justify the use of a deposition when a witness is unable to attend a court proceeding or to testify in the proceeding.* None of the enumerated circumstances existed in the present case. Subsection (a)(3)(E) is arguably applicable, but claimant’s failure to comply with the application and notice provisions contained therein forecloses its use in this instance. We know of no other relevant rule of law that would justify admission of the deposition into evidence, and claimant’s brief directs us to none. We can only conclude that the deputy commissioner erred by admitting into evidence, over objection, claimant’s deposition in lieu of live testimony. In the absence of the deposition, the wage loss award is not supported by competent substantial evidence.

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

LARRY G. SMITH, SHAW and JOA-NOS, JJ., concur. *

(3) The deposition of a witness, whether or not a party, may be used by any party for any purpose if the court finds: (A) that the witness is dead; or (B) that the witness is at a greater distance than 100 miles from the place of trial or hearing, or is out of the State, unless it appears that the absence of the witness was procured by the party offering the deposition; or (C) that the witness is unable to attend or testify because of age, illness, infirmity, or imprisonment; or (D) that the party offering the deposition has been unable to procure the attendance of the witness by subpoena; or (E) upon application and notice, that such exceptional circumstances exist as to make it desirable, in the interest of justice and with due regard to the importance of presenting the testimony of witnesses orally in open court, to allow the deposition to be used; or (F) the witness is an expert or skilled witness.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Safeway Ins. Co. & Bruce D. Sutton v. Saxon, 452 So. 2d 60 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
    …s, Inc., 135 Ga.App. 81, 217 S.E. 2d 399 (Ga.App.1975); Ellis v. Butterfield, 98 Idaho 644, 570 P. 2d 1334 (Idaho 1977). We also find no error in the trial court refusing to permit the use of the discovery deposition. Schwind Harvesting v. Boatman, 424 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.330(a)(3). As to the alleged improper closing argument, we find no merit in this contention. Defense counsel clearly opened the door by argument which requested the jury to return a “zero verdict” and [“not to gi…
  • Collins v. Williston Timber & Gen. Adjustment Bureau, 536 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
    …order that he relied on the deposition in reaching his disposition of the claim. This was error. The proper use of depositions in workers’ compensation proceedings is governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330.1 Schwind Harvesting v. Boatman, 424 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Because Ms. Houtsma’s absence at the hearing was not shown to be excused due to any of the factors enumerated in Rule 1.330(a)(3), we conclude that the lower court erred in relying upon her deposition testimony in deciding that…

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