Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Crabtree

• Decision Date: 10 April 1980
• Docket Number: No. OO-206,OO-206
• Citation: 383 So.2d 657
• Parties: AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY CO., Appellant, v. Albert M. CRABTREE, Jr., et ux., Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 657

383 So.2d 657

AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY CO., Appellant, v. Albert M. CRABTREE, Jr., et ux., Appellees.

No. OO-206.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

April 10, 1980.

Rehearing Denied June 9, 1980.

Charles T. Wells of Wells, Gattis & Hallowes, Orlando, for appellant.

Ellis E. Neder, Jr., Jacksonville, for appellees.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

This appeal is from a final judgment entered against appellant Aetna following a jury trial. The Crabtrees brought suit, contending they are third party creditor beneficiaries of a performance and payment bond written by Aetna. We reverse based upon our finding that the trial court erred in striking Aetna's evidence of the settlement of a prior suit brought against it by the named owner-obligee of the bond, and remand to the trial court for reconsideration of Aetna's motion for directed verdict.

The Crabtrees, as fee simple owners of an office building in downtown Jacksonville, entered into a lease agreement dated February 2, 1972, with Blackstone Developers, a partnership. Under this lease Blackstone Developers agreed to raze the existing structure and to construct a condominium office building on the Crabtrees' property. Blackstone Developers leased the Crabtrees' property for the period necessary to raze the old building and to construct the new building and for a period of 99 years after the completion of the new building. Mr. Crabtree was a partner in Blackstone Developers, but Mrs. Crabtree was not.

Blackstone Developers entered into an agreement for the construction of the proposed building with Wiggs & Maale Construction Co., Inc. Wiggs & Maale furnished Blackstone Developers a performance and payment bond issued by Aetna as surety with Wiggs & Maale as principal. Blackstone Developers was the named owner-obligee of the bond. The appellees were not named obligees in the bond. Wiggs & Maale defaulted by not completing construction on schedule. In 1975 the partners of Blackstone Developers (including Mr. Crabtree), individually and doing business as Blackstone Developers, brought suit against Aetna seeking damages under the performance and payment bond occasioned by the delay in the completion of the building. That 1975 suit was terminated by final judgment entered pursuant to an offer of judgment by Aetna and acceptance thereof by Blackstone Developers.

The present action was filed by the Crabtrees in 1977, seeking damages under the performance and payment bond for delay in completion of the building. Appellees alleged they were either owners-obligees under the bond or third party creditor beneficiaries thereof. Appellant has not appealed the trial court's ruling that as a matter of law the appellees are not owners-obligees under the bond, and that determination must therefore be respected as the law of the case.

Appellant frames the three following points on appeal:

1. The court erred in not determining,...