MAYSVILLE, INC., APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
THE WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
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The court affirmed judgment against the developer on its claims but reversed the trial court's involuntary dismissal of the general contractor's counterclaims because the dismissal occurred before the contractor completed presenting its evidence.
A trial court may not enter an involuntary dismissal of counterclaims before the party seeking affirmative relief has completed presentation of its evidence, even without a motion from the opposing party.
[1] An involuntary dismissal for lack of evidence under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(b) may only be entered after the party seeking affirmative relief has completed…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Simply put, it is error to direct a verdict before a plaintiff has completed presentation of his evidence .... [T]he same concept applies to an involuntary dismissal.”
Court citing Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. v. Santiago to establish that involuntary dismissals cannot occur before completion of evidence presentation.
In a condominium project dispute, Maysville, Inc. (Developer) filed a two-count complaint against The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (General Cont…
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In this condominium project dispute between Maysville, Inc. (“Developer”) and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (“General Contractor”), the Developer filed a two-count complaint against the General Contractor and the General Contractor filed several counterclaims. The trial court entered judgment against the *507Developer on both of its claims. We a£firm those rulings without discussion.
We reverse, however, the involuntary dismissal of the counterclaims. Without a motion being made by the Developer, the trial court involuntary dismissed the counterclaims . before the General Contractor had an opportunity to complete the presentation of its evidence. As the Developer commendably concedes, the trial court erred. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(b) (2014) (providing for an involuntary dismissal for lack of evidence only “[a]fter a party seeking affirmative relief in an action tried by the court without a jury has completed the presentation of evidence”); Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. v. Santiago, 117 So.3d 1146, 1147 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (“Simply put, it is error to direct a verdict before a plaintiff has completed presentation of his evidence .... [T]he same concept applies to an involuntary dismissal.”) (internal citation and quotations omitted).
Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Santiago, 117 So. 3d 1146 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)