MARY S. TOLAN AND DANNY GARZA, APPELLANTS,
v.
DOUGLAS R. COVIELLO, DEBRA A. COVIELLO, MICHAEL P. ELGAR, MARJORIE DAWN JOHNSON, PAMELA JAWORSKI AND GEICO INDEMNITY COMPANY, APPELLEES
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.
In a multiple-car rear-end collision case, the appellate court reversed summary judgment entered in favor of Marjorie Johnson, the middle driver. Although Johnson argued she stopped behind Tolan and was then rear-ended and pushed forward, the court found evidence that Johnson had negligently changed lanes in front of Coviello and stopped abruptly, creating the dangerous condition that led to the collision.
Summary judgment for Johnson was improper because evidence supported an inference that Johnson was negligent in changing lanes in front of Coviello and stopping suddenly, which was a cause of the accident. The trial court erred in failing to draw all inferences in favor of the non-moving party and in finding that Johnson bore no negligence as a matter of law.
[1] Summary judgment is improper when record evidence supports an inference that the non-moving party was negligent and that negligence was a cause of the accident.
[2] In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw every possible inference in favor of the non-moving party.
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 intelligence“the court must draw every possible inference in favor of the non-moving party”
Establishes the fundamental standard governing summary judgment review that requires all factual inferences to favor the non-moving party.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMary S. Tolan was the lead driver in a multiple-car rear-end collision. Marjorie Johnson drove the car immediately behind Tolan, Douglas Coviello drov…
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 Presumption Of Negligence In Rear-End Collisions cases and more on FLexlaw
This case stems from a summary judgment entered in favor of Marjorie Johnson, one of the defendants involved in a multiple-car rear-end collision. The driver of the leading car, Mary S. Tolan, and her son, Danny Garza, filed negligence suits against the driver of each of the cars behind them, i.e., Johnson, the driver of the car immediately behind Tolan; Coviello, the driver of the car behind Johnson; and Jaworski, the driver of the car behind Coviello. Johnson, the driver of the car immediately behind Tolan, asserted that the undisputed evidence established she brought her car to a stop behind Tolan and was then herself rear-ended and pushed into Tolan, and, thus, there was no negligence on her part that was a cause of the accident. Because there was record evidence that Johnson was negligent in placing her car abruptly between the Tolan and Coviello vehicles immediately prior to impact, we reverse the summary judgment entered in her favor.
Summary judgment is proper only where “[t]he facts ... [are] ‘so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law’ ” and, in ruling on a motion for summary judgment, “ ‘the court must draw every possible inference in favor of the non-moving party.’ ” Cohen v. Cooper, 20 So.3d 453, 455 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (quoting Moore v. Morris, 475 So.2d 666, 668 (Fla.1985), and Edwards v. Simon, 961 So.2d 973, 974 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)). It is true that the deposition testimony was to the effect that Johnson was able to stop her car behind Tolan, Coviello was able to stop his car behind Johnson, and, when Jaworski rear-ended Coviello, Coviello struck Johnson and pushed her into Tolan. It is also true, however, that the deposition testimony supports an inference that, while driving through an intersection, Johnson changed lanes right in front of Coviello and then suddenly stopped short, causing Coviello to slam on his brakes and stop short such that he was only six to twelve inches from Johnson’s car. The evidence offered in support of summary judgment thus failed to demonstrate that there was no negligence on the part of Johnson that was a cause of the accident *75or that the presumption of negligence attaching to Jaworski, as the rear driver, was unrebutted. Cf. McCloud v. Swanson, 681 So.2d 898, 900 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (finding “[a] reasonable inference” from the evidence was that “the [lead driver] defendant overtook the [rear driver] plaintiffs vehicle, quickly pulled into the lane in front of her, and then came to a sudden stop” and that such evidence precluded the entry of a directed verdict, based on the rear-end presumption, in favor of the defendant lead driver).
Reversed and Remanded.
GROSS, C.J., and FARMER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
McCABE v. Fla. Power & Light Co., 68 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
-
Ventana Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Chancey Design P'ship, Inc., 203 So. 3d 175 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)
-
Martinez v. Martinez, 219 So. 3d 259 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 1985)
- McCLOUD v. Swanson, 681 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Edwards v. Richard J. Simon, M.D., 961 So. 2d 973 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)
- Cohen v. Robert N. Cooper, M.D., 20 So. 3d 453 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)