ALBERT JONES RICHEY, APPELLANT,
v.
MODULAR DESIGNS, INC., APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the trial court erred in granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the jury's verdict was supported by competent, substantial evidence and was not barred by the statute of limitations or the statute of frauds.
[1] An action to recover unpaid wages is governed by the two-year statute of limitations when the claim is for compensation for services rendered by the day or week.
[2] A claim for unpaid commissions by a salaried employee is governed by the four-year statute of limitations.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRichey, a former employee, sued his former employer for breach of an oral employment agreement, seeking unpaid bonuses, commissions, and wages. The ju…
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 Statute Of Limitations Construction cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Albert Jones Richey appeals an order granting the motion of Modular Designs, Inc., for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the grounds that the appellant’s cause of action was barred by two-year statute of limitations, section 95.11(4)(c), Florida Statutes (2000); that the cause of action was barred by the Statute of Frauds, section 725.01, Florida Statutes (2000); and that the jury’s award of damages was not sustained by the evidence. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.
Richey, a former employee of Modular Designs, sued his former employer on June 4, 2001 for breach of an oral employment agreement seeking damages for unpaid bonuses and commissions earned when he allegedly produced new customers for Modular Designs and for his unpaid wages for the last week of his employment. Richey, a salaried employee with the title “Operations Manager” for most of his employment, was returned to an hourly wage of $16 per hour in August 2000. He terminated his employment on December 28, 2000. After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict finding that Modular Designs had breached its oral agreement with Richey. The jury awarded Richey damages of $3,000 for unpaid commissions and $475 in unpaid wages, but determined that Modular Designs was not liable for any unpaid bonuses.
The two-year provision of section 95.11(4)(c) applies to “[a]n action to recover wages or overtime or damages or penalties concerning payment of wages and overtime.” In Broward Builders Exchange, Inc. v. Goehring, 231 So. 2d 513, 514 (Fla.1970), (quoting Blick v. Mercantile Trust & Deposit Co., 113 Md. 487, 77 A. 844 (1910)), the Florida Supreme Court explained that “[t]he word salary imports a specific contract for a specific sum for a specified period of time, while wages are compensation for services by the day or week.” Appellant’s action for his last week of unpaid wages was instituted within two years of the date the wages allegedly became payable in late December 2000 and, thus, was not barred by section 95.11(4)(c).
Turning to Richey’s claim for unpaid commissions, we agree with him that, as a salaried employee suing for unpaid commissions, the four-year statute of limitations in section 95.11(3)(k), Florida Statutes (2000) is applicable to his claim for commissions. Cabanas v. Womack & Bass, P.A., 706 So. 2d 68, 69 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Barnes Surgical Specialties, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 549 So. 2d 1189, 1190 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). The record contains no evidence that the four-year statute of limitations bars recovery here. See Town of Miami Springs v. Lawrence, 102 So. 2d 143, 146 (Fla.1958).
As for the application of the statute of frauds, Richey’s employment contract was terminable at will with an indefinite duration and his claim was for commissions earned based upon past services performed. Further, the record is devoid of evidence that the parties intended the contract to last beyond a year. Accordingly, the statute of frauds does not bar recovery here. Yates v. Ball, 132 Fla. 132, 181 So. 341, 344 (1937); Collier v. Brooks, 632 So. 2d 149, 158 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); see also Heffernan v. Keith, 127 So. 2d 903, 904 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961). Finally, in considering whether the trial court erred in granting the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the ground of insufficient evidence, we start with the caution that “[mjotions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, like motions for directed verdict, should be resolved with extreme caution.” Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850, 852 (Fla.1969). In considering such a motion, all inferences of fact should be construed most strictly in favor of the non-moving party. Id.; see also, Jackson County Hospital Corp. v. Aldrich, 835 So. 2d 318, 325 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). A jury verdict “must be sustained if it is supported by competent, substantial evidence.” Aldrich, 835 So. 2d at 826. A trial court is authorized to grant a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict “only if there is no evidence or reasonable inferences to support the opposing position.” Stirling, 229 So. 2d at 852 (emphasis theirs).
Here, without detailing the evidence in this record, although the evidence is thin, we find that the record contains competent, substantial evidence sufficient to support the jury’s verdict. In particular, Modular Designs’ admission that Richey was responsible for obtaining two new accounts, Wal-Mart and N.A.S. JAX, together with various other evidence in the record and the reasonable inferences from such evidence as to the company’s business practices, constitute sufficient evidence to support the jury’s award of $3,000 for unpaid commissions.
REVERSED and REMANDED for reinstatement of the jury’s verdict.
BARFIELD, VAN NORTWICK and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Hancock v. Jay I. Schorr, M.D., 941 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…appropriate only in situations where there is no evidence upon which a jury could rely in finding for the non-movant. See id. A jury verdict must be sustained if it is supported by competent substantial evidence. See Richey v. Modular Designs, Inc., 879 So. 2d 665, 667 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). The standard of review on appeal of a trial court’s ruling on a motion for directed verdict is de novo. See Contreras v. U.S. Sec. Ins. Co., 927 So. 2d 16, 20 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). To prevail in a medical malpractice case,…
-
State v. Amora, 944 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…01). If there is any evidence to support a possible verdict for the non-moving party, a directed verdict is improper. See id. A jury verdict must be sustained if it is supported by competent substantial evidence. See Richey v. Modular Designs, Inc., 879 So. 2d 665, 667 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). Concerning DCF’s argument that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the alleged negligence was the legal or proximate cause of Marissa’s injuries, the issue of proximate cause is generally a question of fact concerned w…
-
Specialty Marine & Indus. Supplies, Inc. v. Bahram Venus, 66 So. 3d 306 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…318, 325-26 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002) (citing Ticor Title Guarantee Co. v. Harbin, 674 So. 2d 781, 782 (Fla. 1st [*310] DCA 1996)). A jury verdict must be sustained if it is supported by competent substantial evidence. See Richey v. Modular Designs, Inc., 879 So. 2d 665, 667 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). When granting the judgment here, the trial court relied heavily on Besett v. Basnett, 389 So. 2d 995, 997 (Fla.1980), in ruling that Whalen’s “failure to act because of his stated reliance on Venus is not sufficient to con…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Yates v. Ball, 132 Fla. 132 (Fla. 1937)
- Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1969)
- Jackson Cnty. Hosp. Corp. v. Aldrich, 835 So. 2d 318 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
- Broward Builders Exch., Inc. v. Lily Goehring, 231 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 1970)
- Town OF Miami Springs v. Franklyn Lawrence and Muriel Lawrence, 102 So. 2d 143 (Fla. 1958)
- Collier v. Bolling Brooks, 632 So. 2d 149 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
- Heffernan v. Collie D. Keith, 127 So. 2d 903 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961)
- Barnes Surgical Specialties, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 549 So. 2d 1189 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
- Cabanas v. Womack & Bass, P.A., 706 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)