Florida Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co. v. Patterson, 92-555
| Decision Date | 22 December 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-555,92-555 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Week. D111 FLORIDA FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. Timothy L. PATTERSON, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Melanie Shaw Seymour and Richard M. Denney, Fort Walton Beach, for appellant/cross-appellee.
Woodburn S. Wesley, Jr. of Cotton, Wesley, Poche & Gates, Shalimar, for appellee/cross-appellant.
Appellant appeals, and appellee cross appeals, following the entry of a final judgment awarding compensatory damages to appellee for conversion of appellee's auto. Appellant raises three issues: (1) whether appellee is the proper party to bring the action; (2) whether there is competent substantial evidence to support the trial court's decision that appellant had converted appellee's auto; and (3) whether, assuming that the trial court's decision that appellant had converted appellee's auto is supported by competent substantial evidence, the trial court applied the proper measure of compensatory damages. In his cross appeal, appellee raises two issues: (1) whether the trial court applied the proper measure of compensatory damages; and (2) whether the trial court erroneously refused to permit appellee to amend his complaint to include a demand for punitive damages. We affirm as to all issues except the measure of compensatory damages.
Appellee's auto was damaged in a collision for which appellant's insured was at fault. Appellee contacted his insurer, which told him to make a claim with appellant. Pursuant to appellant's instruction, appellee had his auto towed to a body shop for an estimate of the repair cost. A short time later, before any settlement had been reached between appellant and appellee (and without appellee's consent or knowledge) appellant authorized another body shop with which it had a contract to pick up appellee's auto as salvage. That body shop picked up appellee's auto and, shortly thereafter, stripped it for salvage. While it is not clear from the record how this was allowed to happen before a settlement had been reached and appellant had obtained title to the auto, there is no evidence to suggest that it was the result of more than simple negligence on the part of appellant.
Appellee testified that, although he had purchased the auto used for $6,500.00 several months before the accident, he believed that he had gotten a good deal, and that its fair market value immediately before the accident had been $6,850.00. It is undisputed that, as a result of the accident, the auto was a total loss. Also undisputed are the facts that appellee ultimately received $6,600.00 (his estimate of the auto's fair market value immediately before the accident less a deductible of $250.00) from his insurer; and that the salvage value of the auto was twenty percent of its value immediately prior to the accident (or $1,370.00).
The trial court concluded that appellant had converted appellee's auto. Initially, it entered a final judgment awarding appellee $12,499.68 in compensatory damages. Apparently, this figure represents the sum of the following: "the net value of the car and interest"--$3,437.28; "loss of use" of the auto--$6,917.30; and "loss of ... use of the money" being paid by appellee on his auto loan--$2,145.10. However, as the result of a motion for rehearing filed by appellant, the trial court later entered an amended final judgment which reduced the compensatory damage award to $8,074.58. This latter figure represents the sum of the following: "loss of use of the vehicle"--$6,917.30; appellee's insurance deductible--$250.00; and interest--$907.28.
It is clear from the record that appellee is the proper party to bring the action. Likewise, our review of the record satisfies us that substantial competent evidence was presented to support the trial court's conclusion that appellant converted appellee's auto. See, e.g., Stearns v. Landmark First Nat'l Bank, 498 So.2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986) (). We also conclude that appellee...
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