Edenfield v. B & I Contractors, Inc., 92-04647
| Decision Date | 22 September 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-04647,92-04647 |
| Citation | 624 So.2d 389 |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Weekly D2105 Chris EDENFIELD, Appellant, v. B & I CONTRACTORS, INC., Appellee. |
M. David Shapiro of M. David Shapiro, P.A., Sarasota, for appellant.
Frank A. Pavese, Jr., of Pavese, Garner, Haverfield, Dalton, Harrison & Jensen, Cape Coral, and Robert L. Donald of Law Office of Robert L. Donald, Ft. Myers, for appellee.
Chris Edenfield appeals from a final summary judgment against him and in favor of B & I Contractors, Inc. He contends a factual dispute remains unresolved on his claim that he was wrongfully discharged because he filed a workers' compensation claim. We agree that the final summary judgment was improperly granted and reverse. The issue of Edenfield's wrongful termination from his employment was not factually foreclosed by the record before the trial court.
Edenfield filed a complaint alleging B & I terminated his employment in August 1991 in violation of section 440.205, Florida Statutes (1991). 1 B & I answered, denied the allegations, and filed eight affirmative defenses. B & I's defenses relied on a joint petition dated May 21, 1991, which released and settled Edenfield's workers' compensation claim. B & I also filed interrogatories requesting that Edenfield describe the incidents to support his allegations of demotion, reduction in pay, and general intimidation and harassment resulting from filing the workers' compensation claim. Edenfield's answers to the interrogatories listed multiple incidents occurring before the May 21, 1991, release.
B & I then filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Following the hearing on B & I's motion, the trial court granted final summary judgment. The court ruled that the release entitled B & I to partial summary judgment because it had no responsibility for damages resulting from events occurring on or before the date of the workers' compensation claim release. Edenfield concedes there is no error in that ruling. The trial court went on to hold, "... since no issues have been raised in the Plaintiff's Complaint nor proved to be in existence by virtue of the Plaintiff's Interrogatory responses after the date of the release and Workers' Compensation Order entered thereon, the Defendants are granted a Final Summary Judgment against the Plaintiff in this cause."
The trial court properly ruled Edenfield was not entitled to damages for any incidents or claims which occurred prior to the date of the release. However, the trial court erred in granting final summary judgment on Edenfield's alleged August 1991 wrongful termination. The settlement and release of the workers' compensation claim would not bar an action for subsequent wrongful termination alleged to be the result of the workers' compensation claim. See Sottile v....
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Rease v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
...the introduction of evidence offered to prove a cause of action brought within the limitations period. See Edenfield v. B & I Contractors, Inc., 624 So.2d 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Robbins v. City of Miami Beach, 613 So.2d 580 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). As the court in Robbins stated, "[T]he fact th......
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Borque v. Trugreen, Inc.
...party has done so here. The validity of using a general release has been confirmed by the Florida courts in Edenfield v. B&I Contractors, Inc., 624 So.2d 389, 390 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Edenfield involved a situation somewhat analogous to the one at issue here. In Edenfield the court upheld a ......
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