GEORGE D. PERLMAN, AS TRUSTEE FOR CITY ISLES TRUST, APPELLANT,
v.
JOSE A. VALDES, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF SHERRY LYNN VALDES; JACK AND LINDA NEWTON, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES
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The Trust appealed a wrongful death judgment awarded to Jose Valdes and his wife's estate after a speedboat struck an unlighted pier owned by the Trust. The court affirmed the negligence liability finding but reversed and remanded the estate's damages award as excessive, and affirmed summary judgment against the parents who could not establish financial dependence.
The Trust's negligence liability was affirmed, but the estate's damages award was reversed and remanded because it exceeded the evidence of Sherry's loss of earnings and net accumulations. The summary judgment against the Newtons was affirmed because parents cannot recover for wrongful death under general maritime law without establishing financial dependence.
[1] A new trial is appropriate when a jury verdict awards damages contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.
[2] Parents may not recover under general maritime law for the wrongful death of their child absent a showing of financial dependence on the decedent.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A new trial is appropriate when a verdict awards damages contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.”
Establishes the standard for reversing the excessive damages award to the estate.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSherry Lynn Valdes died when a speedboat carrying her and her husband Jose struck an unlighted, unused concrete pier owned by City Isles Trust. Jose s…
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BASKIN, Judge.
George D. Perlman, as trustee for City Isles Trust [Trust], appeals a final judgment awarding damages to Jose A. Valdes and to the estate of his wife, Sherry Lynn Valdes, for her wrongful death. Jack and Linda Newton, Sherry’s parents, cross-appeal an adverse summary judgment. We affirm the final judgment in part, reverse in part, and affirm the summary judgment.
Sherry Lynn Valdes died as a result of injuries she sustained when the speedboat in which she and her husband, Jose, were riding struck an unlighted, unused concrete pier. Jose, individually and on behalf of Sherry’s estate, instituted a wrongful death action against the Trust, the owner of the pier, predicated on the Trust’s negligence and its failure to light the pier in accordance with federal regulations. The Newtons sought damages arising from their daughter’s wrongful death. The Trust moved for summary judgment against the Newtons’ claims. The trial court granted the motion.
The remaining claims were tried before a jury. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury decided that the Trust had been guilty of negligence per se because it had failed to comply with federal maritime regulations, and that Jose and Sherry were 25% negligent. The jury returned a verdict awarding the estate $250,000 and Jose, individually, $250,000. The Trust moved for a new trial and for remittitur of the award to the estate. The trial court denied the motion and in accordance with the verdict, entered final judgment. The Trust filed an appeal, and the Newtons filed a cross-appeal from the summary judgment.
We agree with the Trust’s argument that the jury verdict in favor of the estate exceeds the evidence of Sherry’s loss of earnings and net accumulations. A new trial is appropriate when a verdict awards damages contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. Allred v. Chittenden Pool Supply Co., 298 So. 2d 361 (Fla.1974); Rety v. Green, 546 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 553 So. 2d 1165 (Fla. 1989); Gup v. Cook, 549 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Hawk v. Seaboard System R.R., Inc., 547 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). We therefore reverse the portion of the judgment representing the award to the estate, and remand for a remittitur or a new trial on the issue of the amount of the estate’s damages. Finding that the remaining points lack merit, we affirm the final judgment in all other respects.
The parents’ cross-appeal also lacks merit. The trial court properly granted summary judgment in the Trust’s favor as the parents may not recover under general maritime law absent a showing of financial dependence on the decedent. Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., — U.S.-, 111 S.Ct. 317, 112 L.Ed.2d 275 (1990); Sistrunk v. Circle Bar Drilling Co., 770 F. 2d 455 (5th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1019, 106 S.Ct. 1205, 89 L.Ed.2d 318 (1986).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Lipworth v. Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A., 592 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…lack of financial dependence on the decedent. The most recent Florida decision on point holds that parents may not recover under general maritime law for the death of a child absent a showing of financial dependence on the child. Perlman v. Valdes, 575 So. 2d 216 (Fla.3d DCA 1990). We agree. In Perlman a woman died when the speed boat in which she and her husband were riding struck an unlighted, unused concrete pier. Her parents joined in the husband’s and estate’s wrongful death action against the owner of…
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Cantore v. Blue Lagoon Water Sports, Inc., 799 F. Supp. 1151 (S.D. Fla. 1992)…don, 672 F.Supp. 929 (E.D.La.1987); Randall v. Chevron, U.S.A., Vol. 70 Am.Mar. Cases 1583, 1992 WL 10431 and 1992 WL 25707 (E.D.La.1992); Lipworth v. Kawasaki Motors Corp., 592 So.2d 1151 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); Perlman v. Valdes, 575 So.2d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). See also In re P & E Boat Rentals, Inc., 872 F.2d 642 (5th Cir.1989) (allowing recovery but emphasizing fact that mother was dependent on decedent); In re Complaint of Patton-Tully Transp. Co., 797 F.2d 206 (5th Cir.1…1 / 3
Authorities Cited
- Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19 (U.S. 1990)
- Denis Rety v. Green, 546 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- Rolande Allred v. Chittenden Pool Supply, Inc., 298 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 1974)
- Hawk v. Seaboard Sys. R.R., Inc., 547 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
- Wallace v. Dep't of the Army, 475 U.S. 1019 (U.S. 1986)
- Sistrunk v. Circle Bar Drilling Co., 475 U.S. 1019 (U.S. 1986)
- GUP v. Cook, 549 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- Sistrunk v. Circle BAR Drilling Co., 770 F.2d 455 (5th Cir. 1985)