WILLIAM SHAW, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS GUARDIAN AND NEXT FRIEND OF GREGORY SHAW AND SCOTT SHAW, AND CHRISTEL SHAW, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION AND FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1987-02-10
No. 86-379
Before HUBBART, BASKIN and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.
503 So. 2d 362 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1987) Caution
Cited by 48 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

The Shaws brought a product liability action against General Motors and Federated Department Stores for injuries from a refrigerator fire. The trial court barred the suit under Florida's statute of repose (12-year limitation), which the Florida Supreme Court had previously declared unconstitutional but later upheld. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal and certified questions to the Supreme Court regarding whether the legislature's subsequent repeal of the statute should apply retroactively.

Holding

The statute of repose properly barred the Shaws' action. When the Florida Supreme Court overruled its earlier decision invalidating the statute and declared it constitutional in Pullum v. Cincinnati, Inc., the statute was validated as of its effective date. The subsequent legislative repeal of the statute operates prospectively only and does not retroactively revive the Shaws' time-barred claim.

Headnotes

[1] A statute of repose, once declared unconstitutional, is validated as of its effective date when the overruling decision is itself overruled.

[2] A law generally operates prospectively in the absence of express legislative intent for retroactive application.

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Key Quotes

“Because the overruling of a decision holding a statute unconstitutional validates the statute as of its effective date, Christopher v. Mungen, 61 Fla. 513, 534, 55 So. 273, 280 (1911); Small v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 502 So.2d 943 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Pait v. Ford Motor Co., 500 So.2d 743 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); Lamb v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, 631 F.Supp. 1144 (S.D. Fla.1986), the Shaws' action was properly the subject of the statutory bar.”

Establishes the controlling legal principle that overruling a decision finding a statute unconstitutional retroactively validates that statute from its effective date.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Shaws were injured when their refrigerator caught fire. The refrigerator had been delivered to the original purchaser more than twelve years befor…

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Topics
Product Liability Action Prospective Application Of Statutes Statute Of Repose Retroactivity

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Opinion of the Court
BASKIN, Judge.

BASKIN, Judge.

Ruling that appellants’ product liability action was barred by the statute of repose, section 95.031(2), Florida Statutes (1983), the trial court entered Final Judgment in favor of appellees. The trial court determined that the action to recover damages for injuries sustained by the Shaws when their refrigerator caught fire accrued more than twelve years after the date of delivery to the original purchaser; section 95.031(2) required that actions be commenced within twelve years of delivery to the original purchaser. When the Shaws filed their action in October, 1984, the statute of repose did not bar their lawsuit because the supreme court had declared the statute to be an unconstitutional deprivation of a plaintiff's access to courts. Battilla v. Allis Chalmers Mfg. Co., 392 So. 2d 874 (Fla.1980). In 1985, however, the supreme court in Pullum v. Cincinnati, Inc., 476 So. 2d 657 (Fla.1985), appeal dismissed, — U.S.-, 106 S.Ct. 1626, 90 L.Ed.2d 174 (1986), receded from its earlier holding in Battilla and held the statute constitutional.1 Because the overruling of a decision holding a statute unconstitutional validates the statute as of its effective date, Christopher v. Mungen, 61 Fla. 513, 534, 55 So. 273, 280 (1911); Small v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 502 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Pait v. Ford Motor Co., 500 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); Lamb v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, 631 F.Supp. 1144 (S.D. Fla.1986), the Shaws’ action was properly the subject of the statutory bar. After the Shaws appealed the Final Judgment, the legislature amended section 95.031(2) and abrogated the statute of repose in product liability actions. Ch. 86-272, § 2, Laws of Fla. In the absence of an express intent to provide retroactive effect, a law operates prospectively, State v. Lavazzoli, 434 So. 2d 321 (Fla.1983); see Homemakers, Inc. v. Gonzales, 400 So. 2d 965 (Fla.1981); Seaboard Sys. R.R. v. Clemente, 467 So. 2d 348 (Fla.3d DCA 1985), so that the repeal of the statute in question has no affect on the Shaws’ suit. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s decision.

We are aware, however, that this case presents questions of great public importance; we therefore certify, as did the fifth district in Pait, the following questions to the Supreme Court of Florida:

I. WHETHER THE LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT OF SECTION 95.031(2), FLORIDA STATUTES (1983), ABOLISHING THE STATUTE OF REPOSE IN PRODUCT LIABILITY ACTIONS, SHOULD BE CONSTRUED TO OPERATE RETROSPECTIVELY AS TO A CAUSE OF ACTION WHICH ACCRUED BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE AMENDMENT. II. IF NOT, WHETHER THE DECISION OF PULLUM v. CINCINNATI, INC., 476 S0.2D 657 (FLA.1985), APPEAL DISMISSED, — U.S. -, 106 S.CT. 1626, 90 L.ED.2D 174 (1986), WHICH OVERRULED BATTILLA v. ALLIS CHALMERS MFG. CO., 392 S0.2D 874 (FLA.1980), APPLIES SO AS TO BAR A CAUSE OF ACTION THAT ACCRUED AFTER THE BATTILLA DECISION BUT BEFORE THE PUL-LUM DECISION.

Affirmed.

. We recognize that appellants added Federated Department Stores, Inc. as a party to this lawsuit after the court denied the rehearing in Pull-marv, consequently, the second certified question is not applicable to Federated Department Stores, Inc.

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Cited By (24 total)

  • Melendez v. Dreis & Krump Mfg. Co., 515 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 1987)
    …became effective on July 1,1986. Ch. 86-272, Laws of Fla. (1986). Since there was no clear manifestation of retroactive effect, the subsequent elimination of the statute of repose cannot save the plaintiffs suit. Accord Shaw v. General Motors Corp., 503 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Small v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 502 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Pait v. Ford Motor Co., 500 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987). See Walker & LaBerge, Inc. v. Halligan, 344 So. 2d 239 (Fla.1977) (immunity from suit not retro…
  • Perez v. Ford Motor Corp., 508 So. 2d 1339 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
    …PER CURIAM. The judgment appealed is affirmed on authority of Shaw v. General Motors Corp., 503 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). We herein adopt and certify for review the identical questions posed in Shaw. Affirmed.…
  • Lane v. Koehring Co., 503 So. 2d 364 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed on the authority of Shaw v. General Motors Corp., 503 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). As in Shaw, we certify to the Supreme Court of Florida the following questions as being of great public importance: I. Should the legislative amendment of Section 95.031(2), Florida Statutes (1983), abolishing the statute of re…

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