Rader v. Otis Elevator Co., V--430
| Decision Date | 05 March 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. V--430,V--430 |
| Citation | 327 So.2d 857 |
| Parties | Lillie B. BADER, Appellant, v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, a corporation, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert M. Barnes, II, and James C. Handly, Jr., of Howell, Searcy & Handly, Jacksonville, for appellant.
Bruce S. Bullock, of Bullock, Sharp & Childs, Jacksonville, for appellee.
Mrs. Rader was hurt on an elevator at the Duval Medical Center in Jacksonville. She sued the Duval County Hospital Authority for money damages, alleging its negligence in maintenance of the elevator, and the Authority in turn filed a third party complaint for indemnity against Otis Elevator Company, which serviced the elevator under contract with the Authority. Before trial the Authority paid Mrs. Rader $25,000 in settlement of her claim. This eliminated Mrs. Rader as a party in interest. The Authority and Otis went to trial on the third party complaint and Otis was exonerated. In a subsequent action Mrs. Rader now sues Otis for negligence in maintenance of the elevator. The trial court entered final summary judgment against her, holding:
Mrs. Rader appeals the adverse adjudication.
In her prior action against the Authority, Mrs. Rader and Otis did not litigate as adversaries the issue of Otis' liability to Mrs. Rader. Having withdrawn from the litigation with the Authority's settlement in hand, Mrs. Rader was not even a party in interest at the time the Authority and Otis litigated the indemnity issues to a judgment. Mrs. Rader's claim against Otis is therefore not barred on grounds of res judicata or estoppel by judgment. Those doctrines do not affect persons not parties or in privity with parties. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Curtiss, 327 So.2d 82 (Fla.App.1st, 1976); Seaboard Coast line R.R. Co. v. Industrial Contr. Co., 260 So.2d 860 (Fla.App.4th, 1972); Hill v. Colonial Enterprises, Inc., 219 So.2d 51 (Fla.App.4th, 1969), cert. disch. 227 So.2d 481 (Fla.1969). See also 50 C.J.S. Judgments § 819 (1947); 46 Am.Jur.2d Judgments § 546 (1969); Restatement of Judgments §§ 82, 84 (1942). Under Rule 1.180, R.C.P., Mrs. Rader was permitted but not required to assert her claim against Otis after Otis was joined by the Authority's third party claim. Until that Rule is amended to require, and not merely permit, the assertion of a plaintiff's claim against a third party defendant...
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