EDWARD DANIEL BROWN, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF JESSE DANIEL BROWN, FOR THE USE AND BENEFIT OF THE ESTATE OF JESSE DANIEL BROWN, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
RONNIE WAYNE WALKER, AN INDIVIDUAL, ET AL., 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.
The appellate court reversed a trial court's decision to grant a directed verdict for the defendants after a jury had found for the plaintiffs. The court found that the jury's verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and reasonable inferences.
Yes, the trial court erred in granting the directed verdict. The appellate court held that there was sufficient evidence and reasonable inferences to support the jury's verdict in favor of the plaintiffs.
[1] A trial court errs in granting a motion for judgment in accordance with a motion for directed verdict after a jury has returned a verdict for the opposing party.
[2] A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict should be granted only if there is no evidence or reasonable inferences to support the opposing position.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is elementary that when “the question of negligence depends on a disputed state of facts, or when the facts, though not disputed, are such that different minds may reasonably draw different conclusions from them the question is for the jury””
Establishes the standard for when a case should be decided by a jury.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe decedent was driving on a highway when he collided with a truck that was partially blocking the left lane while attempting a U-turn. The jury foun…
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PER CURIAM.
In view of our decision to reverse, the only point on appeal that needs to be considered is that the trial court erred in granting a motion for judgment in accordance with defendants-appellees’ motion for directed verdict after the jury found for the plaintiffs-appellants.
On June 30, 1973, during the early night, plaintiff-appellant decedent was driving his automobile west on U.S. 90 (a four-lane highway) at a speed of approximately fifty-five miles per hour. Decedent was driving in the right lane of traffic and upon approaching a slow moving vehicle, switched to the left lane. Appellee Tol-bert’s truck which was driven by appellee Walker, was stopped in an attempt to make a U-turn across the median with a small portion of the trailer protruding into the left lane of traffic. Decedent, about twenty yards from the trailér, moved into the left lane of traffic to pass the slow moving vehicle in the right lane and plowed his car into the portion of the tractor-trailer which was protruding into the left lane resulting in his death. Upon proffered instructions, the jury returned a verdict in favor of appellants.
It is elementary that when “the question of negligence depends on a disputed state of facts, or when the facts, though not disputed, are such that different minds may reasonably draw different conclusions from them the question is for the jury”, Belden v. Lynch, 126 So. 2d 578 (Fla.App. 2nd 1961). A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict should be resolved with extreme caution since the granting thereof holds that one side of the case is essentially devoid of probative evidence. The trial judge is authorized to grant such a motion only if there is no evidence or reasonable inferences to support the opposing position, Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1969). Such is not the case here.
The judgment appealed is reversed with directions to enter a final judgment in accordance with the verdict of the jury.
RAWLS, C. J., JOHNSON, J., and SPECTOR, SAM, Associate Judge (Retired), concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Greene v. Flewelling, 366 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)…rdo, 331 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). A trial court is authorized to grant such a motion only if there is no evidence or reasonable inferences to support the nonmoving party’s position. Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850 (Fla.1969); Brown v. Walker, 306 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); see H. I. Resorts, Inc. v. Touchton, 337 So. 2d 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). One of the bases upon which the trial court set aside the jury’s verdict was that it perceived that there was no evidence of proximate or legal causation.3…
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Merrill Lynch v. Anderson, 501 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…e or reasonable inference therefrom supporting a verdict for the other party. Laird v. Potter; Wheaton v. Bohnert Roofing & Supply Co., Inc., 369 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Wilson v. Tanner, 346 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); Brown v. Walker, 306 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). A judgment notwithstanding the verdict was clearly inappropriate in the instant case since the parties presented sharply contrasting views of what took place in September 1978. There was no basis, procedurally or factually, for…
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Wilson v. Jackson B. Tanner and Pearl E. Tanner, 346 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)…those relating to the disposition of motions for directed verdict. The trial judge is authorized to grant a motion for judgment n. o. v. only if there is no evidence or reasonable inferences to support the opposing position. E. g., Brown v. Walker, 306 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850 (Fla.1969). Moreover a judgment n. o. v. should be awarded with extreme caution “since the granting thereof holds that one side of the case is essentially devoid of probative evidence.” Brown v.…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Stirling v. Sapp, 229 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1969)
- Beldem v. Lynch, 126 So. 2d 578 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)