GEORGE V. CONDA, II, A MINOR, BY HIS FATHER AND NEXT FRIEND, GEORGE V. CONDA, AND GEORGE V. CONDA, INDIVIDUALLY, PETITIONERS,
v.
JUDITH W. PLAIN, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court reversed a directed verdict that had been entered against a minor plaintiff in a negligence case involving a motorbike struck by a car. The court held that the jury's verdict for the plaintiff should be reinstated because the evidence permitted multiple reasonable inferences about negligence and contributory negligence, making the case unsuitable for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
The court held that judgment notwithstanding the verdict was improper because the evidence permitted multiple reasonable inferences about negligence and the jury was entitled to weigh the evidence and reach its verdict. The presumption of negligence arising from a rear-end collision, even when rebutted, leaves permissible inferences for the jury to consider.
“In Guile v. Boggs, supra, this Court held that the presumption of negligence arising from a rear-end collision, even though vanishing when rebutted, leaves permissible inferences which are for the jury.”
Establishes that rear-end collision presumptions create jury questions even when rebutted
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGeorge Conda II, a minor, suffered a fractured skull when his motorbike was struck by a car operated by Judith Plain. Due to the skull fracture, Conda…
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This cause is before us on petition for writ of certiorari to review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Second District, reported at 215 So.2d 13. Our jurisdiction is based on conflict between the decision sought to be reviewed and Guile v. Boggs.1
Petitioner, plaintiff below, George Conda II, a minor, suffered personal injuries, including a fractured skull when his motorbike was struck by an overtaking vehicle owned and operated by respondent, defendant below. The jury returned a verdict of $903.25 in favor of plaintiffs, but the trial court granted defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. On appeal, the District Court affirmed, holding that the plaintiffs had not sustained the burden of proving any specific acts of negligence on the part of the defendant which caused the accident, and that unre-futed evidence in the record established that the minor plaintiff was contributorily negligent as a matter of law.
In Guile v. Boggs, supra, this Court held that the presumption of negligence arising from a rear-end collision, even though vanishing when rebutted, leaves permissible inferences which are for the jury.
The minor plaintiff, Conda, due to his skull fracture was unable to recall the accident. The defendant’s testimony, largely supported by that of her mother-in-law and the other passenger in defendant’s car, was that she was traveling at 30 miles per *418hour going south in the southbound lane with the motorbike 2 blocks ahead of her; that she closed to within 2 car lengths of the motorbike which was on the right hand side of the southbound lane; that at this point, the minor plaintiff looked back at her, then to his front, and then the motorbike made a sharp turn to the left in front of her car; that she applied her brakes but was unable to avoid the collision. The mother-in-law testified that defendant closed to within 10 to 12 feet of the motorbike.
Physical evidence of the collision, as testified to by Sgt. Miller of the Tampa Police Department, revealed that defendant’s vehicle came to rest in the center of the southbound lane of the highway and that 30 feet of skid marks extended backward from the wheels of the car. Sgt. Miller testified the motorbike came to rest partially under the front bumper of the car, said car being damaged on the right front. The bulk of the damage to the motorbike was in the left midway, section with some damage to the rear.
The jury was entitled to consider all the possible inferences arising from the evidence as outlined above and find defendant guilty of negligence and the minor plaintiff free of contributory negligence. In Nelson v. Ziegler,2 we held:
“It is ordinarily the function of the jury to weigh and evaluate the evidence. This is particularly so in negligence cases where reasonable men often draw varied conclusions from the same evidence. In a case of this nature, unless the evidence as a whole with all reasonable deductions to be drawn therefrom, points to but one possible conclusion, the trial judge is not warranted in withdrawing the case from the jury and substituting his own evaluation of the weight of the evidence.”
In view of the foregoing, the decision of the District Court is quashed and the cause remanded with directions that the verdict of the jury be reinstated and judgment entered accordingly.
It is so ordered.
ERVIN, C. J., and CARLTON and ADKINS, JJ., concur.
CALDWELL (Retired), J., dissents.
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Citator
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Eppler v. Tarmac Am., Inc., 752 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 2000)…ould support his or her claim. See Bruce Constr. Corp., 102 So. 2d at 291; Stringer v. Katzell, 674 So. 2d 193, 195 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), review denied, 698 So. 2d 1225 (Fla.1997). This is particularly true in negligence actions. See Conda v. Plain, 222 So. 2d 417, 418 (Fla.1969). Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care under the circumstances. See Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Civ.) 4.1. Thus, to defeat a directed verdict on negligence,8 the rear driver is “required only to produce evidence from which his…
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Gertrude Tozier v. Jarvis, 469 So. 2d 884 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)…nton, 119 So. 2d 296 (Fla. 1st DCA 1960). Second, courts have determined that positive testimony of a sudden unexpected stop or an unexpected switching of lanes by the car in front is sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption. In Conda v. Plain, 222 So. 2d 417 (Fla.1969), the defendant, who hit the plaintiff motorcycle driver from behind, testified that the plaintiff switched suddenly into the defendant’s lane while the defendant was passing the plaintiff. The defendant further testified that she applied…
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Scott v. TPI Rests., Inc., 798 So. 2d 907 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…was negligent and that the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence. It is not unusual for trial judges to take a motion for directed verdict under advisement until after the jury returns with a verdict. See generally Conda v. Plain, 222 So. 2d 417 (Fla.1969); Woods v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 621 So. 2d 710 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.480(b). If a trial judge should elect to do so, his or her decision is reviewed by appellate courts pursuant to the same standard of review g…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gulle v. Purley L. Boggs, 174 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 1965)
- Nelson v. Ziegler, 89 So. 2d 780 (Fla. 1956)
- George v. Conda, II, 215 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968)