GEORGE KALIVAS, APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIAM MILLER, MARIE MILLER, GREGORY MILLER, A MINOR, BY WILLIAM MILLER AND MARIE MILLER, AS PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS AND DENNISON MILLER, A MINOR BY WILLIAM MILLER AND MARIE MILLER, AS PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1985-07-30
No. 84-2588
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and HUB-BART and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.
473 So. 2d 41 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1985) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Kalivas appeals a judgment awarding damages to the Millers for a violent assault and a jury verdict on his counterclaim for conversion against Marie Miller. The court affirms both the directed verdict on liability for the assault and the jury's damage award on the conversion counterclaim.


Holding

The directed verdict on liability was properly entered because uncontradicted evidence established the plaintiffs' claim. The jury's verdict on the conversion counterclaim, resolving the conflicting claims regarding the funds, will not be upset as it is based on substantial, competent evidence.


Headnotes

[1] A directed verdict on liability is proper when the uncontradicted evidence establishes the plaintiff's claim.

[2] A jury's verdict on damages, when based on substantial, competent evidence, will not be overturned on appeal.

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Key Quotes

“The uncontradicted evidence adduced below established the plaintiffs' claim as to liability and, consequently, the directed verdict was properly entered.”

Establishes that the directed verdict on the assault liability was correct based on uncontradicted evidence.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Millers were violently assaulted in their home by hired assassins. George Kalivas was found liable for these injuries. Kalivas also brought a coun…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The defendant George Kalivas appeals a final judgment entered on a jury award of damages after the trial court had directed a verdict on liability in favor of the plaintiffs William Miller and others on their claim for damages arising out of a violent assault upon the plaintiffs in their home by hired assassins. The uncontradicted evidence adduced below established the plaintiffs’ claim as to liability and, consequently, the directed verdict was properly entered. See National Car Rental System v. Bostic, 423 So. 2d 915, 917 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), pet. for review denied, 436 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 1983); Whetzel v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 266 So. 2d 89, 91 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972); Garris v. Robeison, 146 So. 2d 388, 391 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962).

The defendant George Kalivas also appeals a final judgment entered on his counterclaim for conversion against the plaintiff Marie Miller. The trial court directed a verdict in his favor on this claim but sent the damage issue to the jury which, in turn, resolved it in an amount which the defendant deems to be inadequate. The plaintiff Miller, acting as an agent for her mother, asserted ownership over the funds in question based on certain facially legitimate claims which her mother had against the defendant; the defendant presented, on the other hand, a contrary claim to the funds involved. The jury, in turn, resolved the conflicting claims which, in our view, we have no authority to upset as the verdict returned is based on substantial, competent evidence. See Helman v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, 349 So. 2d 1187, 1189 (Fla.1977); Skinner v. Pinney, 19 Fla. 42, 54 (1882).

The final judgment under review is therefore, in all respects,

Affirmed.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Newport Motel, Inc. v. Talucci, 529 So. 2d 1281 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Kalivas v. Miller, 473 So. 2d 41 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); National Car Rental Sys., Inc. v. Bostic, 423 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), rev. denied, 436 So. 2d 97 (Fla.1983). See also Quayside Assocs., Ltd. v. Triefler, 506 So. 2d 6 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).…

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