Bickley v. Castillo
| Decision Date | 31 May 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 77-146,77-146 |
| Parties | L. R. BICKLEY and Colonial Penn Insurance Company, Appellants, v. Joan Bernard CASTILLO, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Blackwell, Walker, Gray, Powers, Flick & Hoehl and Robert G. Young and Bradford Swing, Miami, for appellants.
Vogler & Postman, Miami, for appellee.
Before HENDRY, C. J., and BARKDULL and NATHAN, JJ.
Appellants, L. R. Bickley and his insurer, Colonial Penn Insurance Company, defendants below, take this interlocutory appeal from a final summary judgment on liability, rendered in favor of appellee, Joan Bernard Castillo, plaintiff below.
Appellant Bickley drove his automobile into a service station for repairs. He was met there by one Vincente Almeida, a mechanic for the service station. 1 Almeida, who spoke little or no English, drove with Bickley to work and then returned the vehicle to the station. Later that morning, Almeida, assuming the vehicle was brought in to correct a prior stalling problem, road-tested the vehicle. In an attempt to simulate the stalling problem, Almeida lost the use of the power brakes, ran a red light at an intersection and struck appellee Castillo's vehicle, causing her injuries and property damage.
After the initial pleadings were filed, which included, inter alia, crossclaims filed by the various defendant-insureds against such other relating to the issue of insurance coverage, the coverage issue was severed from the issue of the various defendants' liability to the plaintiff.
Subsequently, appellee filed a motion for summary judgment against all defendants. Both Bickley and Colonial Penn thereupon filed their motions for summary judgment against appellee, as did other defendants. Summary judgment on the issue of liability was entered in favor of appellee and against all defendants, including appellants, with the exception of Almeida's insurer. This interlocutory appeal follows.
The question to be determined by this appeal is whether the dangerous instrumentality doctrine applies to hold an owner of a vehicle liable for damages to a person injured by said vehicle on the public highway, as a result of the negligent road testing of the vehicle by a garage repairman, who maintained both control and custody over the vehicle. We hold that the above doctrine does not apply, and reverse.
The recent case of Harfred Auto Repairs, Inc. v. Yaxley, 343 So.2d 79 (Fla. 1st...
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Castillo v. Bickley
...Swing, of Blackwell, Walker, Gray, Powers, Flick & Hoehl, Miami, for respondents. ENGLAND, Chief Justice. In Bickley v. Castillo, 346 So.2d 625, 626 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), the Third District Court of Appeal held "(T)he owner of a vehicle who places his automobile in the custody of a repair sho......
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Smilowitz v. Russell, 84-220
...has been held applicable to an injury caused when the vehicle is being driven by the repairer to test it, see Bickley v. Castillo, 346 So.2d 625 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), aff'd, Castillo v. Bickley, 363 So.2d 792; Harfred Auto Imports, Inc. v. Yaxley, 343 So.2d 79 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); when the ve......
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Lopez v. Demaria Porche-Audi, PORCHE-AUDI
...PER CURIAM. The trial judge directed a verdict for DeMaria, the owner of a vehicle, relying on this court's opinion in Bickley v. Castillo, 346 So.2d 625 (Fla.3d DCA 1977), approved, Castillo v. Bickley, 363 So.2d 792 (Fla.1978). We Under the facts of this case, the vehicle in question was ......
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Haddox v. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 78-6
...NATHAN and HUBBART, JJ. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Harfred Auto Imports, Inc. v. Yaxley, 343 So.2d 79 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); Bickley v. Castillo, 346 So.2d 625 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). ...