SPEARMAN DISTRIBUTING COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
EDWARD BOYETTE, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1968-01-09
No. H-480
CARROLL, DONALD K., Acting Chief Judge, and RAWLS and SPECTOR, JJ., concur.
205 So. 2d 690 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1968) Positive Treatment
Cited by 11 cases

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Synopsis

Spearman Distributing Company appeals the trial court's order granting a new trial in a negligence action where the jury awarded only $1,800, which the trial judge found shockingly inadequate given evidence of plaintiff's permanent injuries. The appellate court affirmed, holding that trial judges possess broad discretion to grant new trials when verdicts shock the judicial conscience, even when supported by substantial evidence.


Holding

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting a new trial. Trial judges possess broad discretion, subject to appellate review, to grant new trials when verdicts shock the judicial conscience, even when the verdict is supported by substantial competent evidence.


Key Quotes

“We do not understand the trial judge's authority to grant a new trial to be controlled solely by the presence in the record of substantial, competent evidence to support the verdict.”

Establishes that substantial evidence supporting a verdict does not limit the trial judge's discretion to grant a new trial.

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Facts & Procedural History

A negligence action resulted in a jury verdict for the appellee (plaintiff) in the amount of $1,800. The trial judge found evidence of permanent injur…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by the defendant below from an order granting a new trial in a negligence action.

The jury rendered a verdict for the appel-lee in the amount of $1,800, and he filed his motion for a new trial asserting that said verdict was so grossly inadequate as to shock the judicial conscience of the court and further that said verdict was not sufficient to cover plaintiff’s pecuniary losses. The court granted the motion upon a finding that the verdict of the jury “ * * * is so inadequate that it shocks the judicial conscience of the Court and further finds that the Jury did not follow the instructions of the Court on the question of liability and damages * * * ”

Appellant urges as grounds for reversal that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding a new trial because the record discloses that the jury did not disregard the court’s instructions. In the main, the appellant’s argument consists of a showing that the verdict rendered was supported by the evidence adduced at the trial. Proceeding *691from this basis, appellant further argues that since the jury was free to accept or re-j ect the testimony of the witnesses as to the nature and extent of the damage sustained by the plaintiff, the granting of a new trial constituted an abuse of the trial judge’s discretion.

We do not understand the trial judge’s authority to grant a new trial to be controlled solely by the presence in the record of substantial,' competent evidence to support the verdict. The trial judge’s authority in the premises, although reviewable, Russo v. Clark, 147 So.2d 1 (Fla.1962), is nonetheless within his broad discretion. That such discretion is reviewable does not meant that the discretion does not exist or that it is not broad. In Cloud v. Fallis, Fla., 110 So.2d 669, the Supreme Court noting a confusion about the rule against which to measure the correctness of an order granting a new trial discussed the two most frequently applied rules, the “substantial competent evidence” rule and the “broad discretion” rule and held that the District Court of Appeal correctly applied the latter rule. No useful purpose is to be served by a further review of the cases which seek to discuss the application of the two rules. It is sufficient for our purpose to state merely that it does not seem that the Supreme Court has receded from its holding in Cloud v. Fallis, supra. See Judge Shannon’s discussion of the two rules in Danek v. Hoffman, 189 So.2d 893 (Fla.App.2d 1966).

We have reviewed the record before us and find evidence of permanent injuries to the plaintiff which, though not refuted by the defense, was obviously not heeded by the jury. The court below granted the new trial for the stated reason that its judicial conscience was shocked by the verdict. This one evidentiary factor is enough to lead us to hold that the trial judge’s order stating the reason therefor is not without some basis in this record so that there is no collision with the rule pronounced in Russo v. Clark, supra, relied on by appellant, and the holding herein. We uphold the granting of a new trial as being within the trial judge’s broad judicial discretion.

Affirmed on authority of Cloud v. Fallis, Fla., 110 So.2d 669, and Danek v. Hoffman, 189 So.2d 893 (Fla.App.2d 1966).

CARROLL, DONALD K., Acting Chief Judge, and RAWLS and SPECTOR, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • N. Dade Imported Motors, Inc. v. Brundage Motors, Inc., 221 So. 2d 170 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969)
    …ion with the finding of the trial judge that the jury was motivated by passion, prejudice or bias. . Grant v. Williams, 190 So. 2d 23 (Fla.App.2d 1966). . Tye v. Ruark, 179 So. 2d 612 (Fla.App.2d 1965). . Spearman Distributing Company v. Boyette, 205 So. 2d 690 (Fla.App.1st 1968). . Warner v. Goding, 91 Fla. 260, 107 So. 406 (1926). . Florida Power Corporation v. Smith, 202 So. 2d 872 (Fla.App.2d 1967). . Russo v. Clark, 147 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1962). . McAllister Hotel, Inc. v. Porte, 123 So. 2d 339 (Fla.19…
  • Nat'l W. Life Ins. Co. v. Walters, 216 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)
    …he jury verdict, appeal this order and urge error in its entry. - Ordinarily, a trial judge is given a very broad discretion in granting a new trial. Cloud v. Fallis, Fla.1959, 110 So. 2d 669; Spearman Distributing Company v. Boyette, Fla.App.1968, 205 So. 2d 690; Volk v. Goetz, Fla.App.1967, 206 So. 2d 250. And, it takes a stronger showing to upset an order granting a new trial than it does an order denying a new trial. Pyms v. Meranda, Fla.1957, 98 So. 2d 341; Pemberton v. Keel, Fla.App.1967, 195 So. 2d 63…
  • Leggett v. Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co., 221 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969)
    …GGINTON, C. J., and CARROLL, DONALD K., and RAWLS, JJ., concur, . Cloud v. Fallis, (Fla.1959) 110 So. 2d 669, 673. . Glisson v. North Florida Telephone Company, (Fla.App.1988) 210 So. 2d 25; Spearman Distributing Company v. Boyette, (Fla.App.1968) 205 So. 2d 690. . Cobb v. Brew, (Fla.App.1963) 155 So. 2d 814. . Dailey v. Hendricks, (Fla.App.1968) 213 So. 2d 600.…

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