RINKER MATERIALS CORPORATION, PETITIONER,
v.
NAVISTAR INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION CORP., RESPONDENT
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.
Rinker Materials challenged a discovery order requiring it to produce a truck for testing and inspection without advance payment or bond. The Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the trial court's order, holding that postponing payment determination until after inspection was not an abuse of discretion where the complying party faced no undue burden and the opposing party appeared solvent.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in requiring Rinker to produce trucks for inspection without advance payment or bond, provided that payment for all costs and losses is ordered after the inspection is completed and the extent of damages becomes known. Case-by-case analysis is appropriate, and postponement of reimbursement determination is reasonable when there is no indication the opposing party is insolvent and the complying party faces no undue burden.
[1] A trial court may order the production of a vehicle for testing, including the removal of parts for analysis, as a discovery method.
[2] A trial court may authorize random visual inspection of a sample of vehicles as a less expensive discovery method than requiring production of voluminous fleet maintenanc…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“The court was not postponing resolution until the end of the litigation but only until the determinative facts were known.”
Establishes that the trial court's deferral of payment determination was temporary and reasonable, not indefinite postponement.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceNavistar obtained a discovery order requiring Rinker to produce a truck for testing (including removal of a grab bar for analysis) and to submit 25 ra…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Discovery Orders cases and more on FLexlaw
STONE, Judge.
We deny this petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of an order requiring Rink-er to produce a truck for testing without any provision in the order for a bond or advance payment covering costs and any potential loss incurred in the production. The order authorizes the removal of a grab bar from the truck for analysis to determine whether it is defective. The order also authorizes the random visual inspection of a sample (25) of other Rinker trucks. This random visual inspection was deemed a less expensive method of discovery than requiring production of voluminous fleet maintenance records.
The trial court ordered Navistar to pay for all repairs, costs, and any loss resulting from loss of use of the trucks. However, the amount of such payment was not to be resolved until a separate hearing after the inspection. It is the provision for payment after, rather than prior to, the expense or loss being incurred, and without requiring that a bond be posted, that is the disputed issue. The court was not postponing resolution until the end of the litigation but only until the determinative facts were known.
The trial court’s decision does not impose an undue burden on Rinker and is not a departure from the essential requirements of law. We note that Navistar contends that any potential loss to Rinker will be minimal, while Rinker claims that it will incur substantial loss. To prevent unnecessary loss of use, Navistar suggests that the inspections occur on site and during non-business or weekend hours when the trucks would not normally be in use. We also note that there is no indication in the record that Navistar is insolvent or otherwise unable to timely respond to a subsequent payment order. We cannot say, with the extent of cost and potential loss problematical and dependent on subsequent events, that it was unreasonable to postpone the determination of the amount payable, and any enforcement of such order, for a hearing subsequent to the inspection.
We recognize that this court has frequently mandated that expensive or burdensome production be conditioned upon advance payment of the expense to be incurred. E.g., Dow Corning Corp. v. Garner, 423 So. 2d 1034 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Korneffel v. South Broward Hosp. District, 431 So. 2d 742 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). See also, Schering Corp. v. Thornton, 280 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). However, in Sobering, we recognized that payment issues should be resolved on a case by case basis. There are frequently circumstances in which it is unreasonable to expect the complying party to undergo the expense of production. Id. at 494. In such circumstance, there is patently no adequate remedy on appeal. On the other hand, there are circumstances, such as here, where it is not unreasonable, or an abuse of discretion, to require compliance with a production request in advance of resolving reimbursement issues. See Id.; Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. v. U.S.C.P. Co., 515 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987).
Here, we cannot say that the court’s decision was unreasonable. Therefore, the petition is denied.
HERSEY, J., concurs.
GUNTHER, J., concurs in result only.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Allstate Ins. Co. v. Hodges, 855 So. 2d 636 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…n, 280 So. 2d 493, 494 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). However, the bond requirement “must necessarily be a case by case decision under the applicable circumstances.” Schering, 280 So. 2d at 494; see also Rinker Materials Corp. v. Navistar Int’l Transp. Corp., 654 So. 2d 279, 281 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). In this case, the trial court may very well have determined that Allstate’s discovery costs were not unreasonable and unduly burdensome. Accordingly, it cannot be said that the court departed from the essential requirements…
Authorities Cited
- Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. U.S.C.P. Co., 515 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
- Schering Corp. v. Offa Dean Thornton, 280 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973)
- DOW Corning Corp. v. Allibert Garner and George M. Garner, 423 So. 2d 1034 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Ross v. Nelda Louise Ross, 431 So. 2d 742 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- Korneffel v. S. Broward Hosp. Dist., 431 So. 2d 742 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)