Nunziato v. P & L Auto Parts, Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 August 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-2200,80-2200 |
| Citation | 403 So.2d 1031 |
| Parties | Frank NUNZIATO, individually, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Lena Nunziato, deceased, Frank F. Nunziato and George T. Nunziato, by and through Frank Nunziato, their father and next friend, Appellants, v. P & L AUTO PARTS, INC. and South Carolina Insurance Company, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Kermit G. Kindred and Richard R. McCormack, Miami, for appellants.
Corlett, Merritt, Killian & Sikes and Gerald E. Rosser, Miami, for appellees.
Before BARKDULL and FERGUSON, JJ., and MELVIN, WOODROW (Ret.), Associate Judge.
Lena Nunziato was killed while a passenger in a vehicle owned by appellee P & L Auto Parts, Inc. and insured by appellee South Carolina Insurance Co. Frank Nunziato individually and as personal representative of Lena's estate, appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of appellees in the wrongful death action below. We affirm.
Lena was killed when the vehicle in which she was riding crashed head-on while rounding a "S" shaped curve. An autopsy on the driver of the P & L Auto Parts car, Kenneth Lorenzo, revealed that he had a .14 percent blood-alcohol level at the time of the accident. The driver of the other car, George DeMoya, stated that a few hours before the collision, he had taken a couple of quaaludes mixed with a few drinks. It was estimated that DeMoya was traveling about 60 miles per hour; Lorenzo between 35 to 55 miles per hour. The posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour. DeMoya's vehicle crossed the center-line almost five feet into Lorenzo's lane. Lorenzo's vehicle did not cross the center-line and the accident occurred in the lane occupied by Lorenzo's vehicle. DeMoya admits to having dozed off to sleep shortly before the collision. In deposition, appellee's expert witness testified that the driver of the P & L Auto Parts vehicle would have had one to one-and-a-half seconds to act after DeMoya's car started to brake and that an on-coming driver could not react sufficiently to avoid impact in that period of time. The issue on appeal is whether the actions of Lorenzo were a proximate cause of Lena's death.
Even if we assumed that Lorenzo was negligent in that he was driving with a high blood-alcohol level and speeding although there is no conclusive evidence as to speed he may not be held liable for this negligence if the damage was caused by an active and efficient intervening...
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M.C.J. v. State
...defective brakes at excessive speeds. Given the evidence before us, it is impossible to say, as was done in Nunziato v. P & L Auto Parts, Inc., 403 So.2d 1031 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), that there is no evidence that the original tortfeasor set in motion a chain of events resulting in the deaths o......
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Demoya v. Lorenzo
...owner of the car driven by Lorenzo, this court affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the owner, P & L Auto Parts, Inc. Nunziato v. P & L Auto Parts, Inc., 403 So.2d 1031 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). The court Even if we assume that Lorenzo was negligent in that he was driving with a high blood-alc......
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Willis v. Putnam County, Fla.
...(Fla.1977); Brightwell v. Beem, 90 So.2d 320 (Fla.1956); Doll v. Robbins, 303 So.2d 338 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974).3 Nunziato v. P. & L. Auto Parts, Inc., 403 So.2d 1031 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. Garland, 269 So.2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA ...