WILLIAM FLOOD, APPELLANT,
v.
FRED W. WARE AND WARE PLUMBING, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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.
A jury cannot award punitive damages if no compensatory or nominal damages are found. The judgment against Fred W. Ware for punitive damages is vacated.
A jury awarded appellant damages against Fred W. Ware and Ware Plumbing, Inc. The jury awarded punitive damages against Fred W. Ware without awarding …
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 Nominal Damages cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHEB, Judge.
William Flood appeals and Fred W. Ware cross-appeals from jury verdicts and the judgment entered upon them against appel-lee Fred W. Ware and appellee Ware Plumbing, Inc. The jury awarded appellant $500 in punitive damages against Fred W. Ware and $100 in compensatory and $500 in punitive damages against Ware Plumbing, Inc. We have reviewed the briefs and the record and are of the opinion that appellant’s points are without merit. However, we agree with appellee Ware that the verdict against him cannot stand. A jury may not, as it did here, order a defendant to pay punitive damages if it does not find him liable for either compensatory or nominal damages. Sonson v. Nelson, 357 So. 2d 747 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). See also, Lassitter v. International Union of Operating Engineers, 349 So. 2d 622 (Fla.1977).
Accordingly, we vacate that part of the final judgment which assesses punitive damages against Fred W. Ware, and remand with directions that the trial court enter judgment in Ware’s favor. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.
BOARDMAN, Acting C. J., and DAN-AHY, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Am. Motorcycle Inst., Inc. v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…We do not find that conclusion in Lassi-ter. Nor have other post-Lassiter decisions: Overseas Equipment Co., Inc. v. Aceros Arquitectonicos, 374 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Raffa v. Dania Bank, 372 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Flood v. Ware, 363 So. 2d 1101 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), cert. denied 372 So. 2d 468 (Fla.1979); and Sonson, v. Nelson, 357 So. 2d 747 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), cert. denied 364 So. 2d 889, 891 (Fla.1978). Lassiter merely resolved a pre-existing conflict among various appellate court decisi…
-
Eglin Fed. Credit Union v. Curfman, 386 So. 2d 860 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)…ive testimony, much of it conflicting, was presented on these and other issues including alleged actions by the Credit Union tending to affect Curfman’s credit standing. . Compare Sonson v. Nelson, 357 So. 2d 747 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1978); Flood v. Ware, 363 So. 2d 1101 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1978); Raffa v. Dania Bank, 372 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); and American Motorcycle Institute, Inc. v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980).…
-
Nales v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. & Cecil Cronan, 398 So. 2d 455 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)…compensatory damages because of the factfinder’s determination that the plaintiff did not cross the no-fault threshold, an award of punitive damages is nevertheless allowable if otherwise appropriate. We are aware of our statement in Flood v. Ware, 363 So. 2d 1101 (Fla.2d DCA 1978), that a jury may not order a defendant to pay punitive damages if it does not find him liable for either compensatory or nominal damages. Where a jury specifically finds that the plaintiff suffered an injury as the result of an aut…
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
- Lassitter v. Int'l Union OF Operating Eng'rs, 349 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 1976)
- Sonson v. Nelson, 357 So. 2d 747 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)