Collins v. School Bd. of Broward County

• Decision Date: 15 May 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-1271,84-1271
• Citation: 471 So.2d 560,10 Fla. L. Weekly 1237
• Parties: 26 Ed. Law Rep. 533, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1237 Elizabeth Diane COLLINS, as parent and natural guardian of Robert Earl Hammack, a minor, and Elizabeth Diane Collins, individually, Appellants, v. The SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 560

471 So.2d 560

26 Ed. Law Rep. 533, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1237

Elizabeth Diane COLLINS, as parent and natural guardian of Robert Earl Hammack, a minor, and Elizabeth Diane Collins, individually, Appellants, v. The SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, Florida, Appellee.

No. 84-1271.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Fourth District.

May 15, 1985.

As Amended on Denial of Rehearing July 17, 1985.

Melanie G. May of Bunnell, Denman & Woulfe, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellants.

George W. Chesrow and Joan S. Buckley of Walton, Lantaff, Schroeder & Carson, Miami, for appellee.

HURLEY, Judge.

This appeal, involving an allegation of negligent supervision by a classroom teacher, stems from an incident during which the plaintiff/appellant was sexually assaulted by another male student. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, but the trial court granted defendant/School Board's motion for judgment in accordance with its prior motion for directed verdict, and entered judgment in favor of the School Board. We find error and reverse.

Robert Hammack was a student at Rogers Middle School in December of 1980. Part of his curriculum included a shop class. Hammack is emotionally handicapped and was mixed in with regular students as part of a federally-required "mainstreaming" effort which mandates such intermingling in certain vocationally-oriented classes.

The room where the shop class was held was approximately twice the size of a normal classroom. It contained numerous pieces of large machinery which the students normally used for various projects. Adjacent to the classroom were several smaller rooms; these included the teacher's office and a tool storage room, both located in front of the classroom, and a paint-finishing room and locker storage room in the rear of the classroom.

On December 12, 1980, the day of the incident, a substitute teacher was present due to the regular teacher's absence. This substitute had been placed in charge of other classes at the school in the past and was well-known to the administration and to many of the students. The substitute was not certified as a shop teacher and, consequently, did not allow the students to use the power machinery. Instead, he told the students to work on projects which could be completed with hand tools, or to work on homework from other classes. As a result, the noise level on the day of the Hammack entered the classroom that day and began to work on a Christmas project. At some point, he went to the paint room at the rear of the class to obtain paint for his project. While there, he was confronted by Robert Holloway and Tony Osborne, the two students principally responsible for the sexual assault which occurred shortly thereafter. Holloway and Osborne shut the lights off in the small room and began harassing Hammack. The substitute teacher noticed this, went back and chased the students out, and locked the paint room door.

incident only slightly exceeded that of a normal study period.

Not long afterwards, Holloway and Osborne again approached Hammack. This time, according to Hammack, Holloway began striking him and threatened to beat Hammack up unless he performed oral sex on Holloway. It was then, with Osborne and other students acting as lookouts, that Hammack, standing at the rear of the class and at least partially hidden by a portable chalkboard, was forced to perform oral sex on Holloway. The testimony as to the duration of the incident conflicted, but the plaintiff said the entire encounter lasted ten minutes.

In addition to those students directly involved, other students also witnessed the assault. Paul Shields said he was standing near a workbench which was at approximately mid-point in the room, towards the far side, and noticed the commotion, at which point he moved closer to see what was happening. The testimony varied regarding the substitute teacher's whereabouts during the episode. One student, Beau Brittain, said the teacher was in front of the classroom the entire time. Another student, Paul Shields, said he was unsure, and that the substitute was either at his desk in front of the class or in his office which was located in a room off the front of the classroom. Holloway, the student who committed the assault, testified by deposition that the teacher was out of the classroom during the entire incident. The substitute teacher, however, said that he was "generally" by his desk or walking around by the tables. He further testified that he had no knowledge of the event and, in fact, did not learn of the incident until a later date.

Holloway's propensity to engage in sexually aggressive conduct was a topic of some discussion among the school's administration and students alike. There was testimony, from both male and female students, of repeated incidents in which Holloway would expose himself to other students during class. One student, Elizabeth Martin, said she informed the teacher after one such episode, but was told to "go sit down." She also informed one of the deans at the school, apparently with similar results. Her parents contacted one of the school's deans, and the principal as well, in an unsuccessful attempt to have Elizabeth transferred because they feared for Elizabeth's safety in the shop class.

Finally, members of the school's administration testified. The principal of Rogers Middle School, Patricia Grimes, testified by deposition and said she was aware that, prior to this incident, Holloway had been suspended at least twice for fondling and making sexually suggestive remarks to female students. She also testified she was aware that Holloway had been previously suspended for exposing himself to other students. One of the school's deans, Lincoln Anderson, testified and said he had personally suspended Holloway on one occasion because Holloway was exposing himself. He also said he was aware that an assistant principal at the school had actually witnessed an incident where Holloway exposed himself to a group of students.

The case went to the jury after a five-day trial. The School Board had moved for a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's case, and did so again at the conclusion of all the evidence. The trial court reserved ruling each time. The jury found in favor of Hammack but, in so doing, found him thirty-four percent comparatively

                negligent. 1  The School Board then filed a consolidated document consisting of motions for (1) judgment in accordance with prior motions for directed verdict;  (2) new trial;  (3) remittitur or, in the alternative, for new trial, and (4) a motion to alter or amend judgment.  The trial court granted the motion for judgment in accordance with the School Board's prior motion for directed verdict, and entered judgment accordingly.  In its order granting that motion, the court noted that the remaining motions were moot and, therefore, it would not rule on them.  Even so, the trial court opined that it believed the other motions had merit.  The court also taxed costs against the plaintiff
                

I STANDARD OF REVIEW

When, after the entry of a jury verdict, the trial court grants a motion for judgment in accordance with the movant's prior motion for directed verdict, the ruling constitutes a deferred decision on the earlier motion for a directed verdict. Whitman v. Red Top Sedan Service, Inc., 218 So.2d 213 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969); Reams v. Vaughn, 435 So.2d 879 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). Accordingly, our task in reviewing the propriety of an order granting such a motion is identical to that where an ordinary motion for directed verdict is involved. Presented with such a motion, the court must view all of the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-movant, and, in the face of evidence which is at odds or contradictory, all conflicts must be resolved in favor of the party against whom the motion has been made. Reams v. Vaughn, 435 So.2d 879 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Stenback v. Racing Associates, Inc., 394 So.2d 1128 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Similarly, every reasonable conclusion which may be drawn from the evidence must also be construed favorably to the non-movant. Reams; Stenback, supra. Only where there is no evidence upon which a jury could properly rely, in finding for the plaintiff, should a directed verdict be granted. Ligman v. Tardiff, 466 So.2d 1125 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Hernandez v. Motrico, Inc., 370 So.2d 836 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). It goes without saying that a motion for directed verdict should be treated with special caution, and this is especially true in negligence cases where the function of a jury to weigh and evaluate the evidence is particularly important since reasonable people can draw various conclusions from the same evidence. Benton v. School Board of Broward County, 386 So.2d 831 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Hernandez v. Motrico, Inc., supra.

II THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DUTY

To prevail on a theory of negligent supervision, a plaintiff must prove the basic elements of negligence. Thus, the plaintiff must establish (1) the existence of a teacher-student relationship between the parties giving rise to a legal duty on the part of the defendant-teacher to supervise the student; (2) the negligent breach of that duty; and (3) the proximate causation of the student's injury by the teacher's negligence. Ankers v. District School Board of Pasco County, 406 So.2d 72 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981).

Without question, the school was obligated to supervise Hammack and his classmates. Although a school board is not an insurer against a student being injured, the school board is entrusted with the care of the students and has a legal duty to properly supervise student activity. Rupp v. Bryant, 417 So.2d 658 (Fla.1982); Benton v. School Board of Broward County, 386 So.2d 831 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Barrera v. Dade County, 366 So.2d 531 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); see also Dailey v. Los Angeles Unified School District, 2 Cal.3d 741, 87 Cal.Rptr. 376, 470 P.2d 360 (1970).

We discussed the appropriate standard...