Samuel Friedland Family Enterprises v. Amoroso

• Decision Date: 27 January 1994
• Docket Number: No. 80786,80786
• Citation: 630 So.2d 1067
• Parties: 19 Fla. L. Weekly S52, Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P. 13,770 SAMUEL FRIEDLAND FAMILY ENTERPRISES, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. Paula AMOROSO, et vir., et al., Respondents.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 1067

630 So.2d 1067

19 Fla. L. Weekly S52, Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P. 13,770

SAMUEL FRIEDLAND FAMILY ENTERPRISES, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. Paula AMOROSO, et vir., et al., Respondents.

No. 80786.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Jan. 27, 1994.

Richard A. Sherman and Rosemary B. Wilder of the Law Offices of Richard A. Sherman, P.A., and Gregg J. Pomeroy of Pomeroy, Pomeroy & Beauchamp, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for petitioners.

C. Robert Murray, Jr. of Canning, Murray & Peltz, P.A., Miami, for respondent.

David L. Willis and Donald H. Benson of Vernis & Bowling, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for Robin Rhodenbaugh and Rhodenbaugh's Sheet Metal Repairs, Inc.

GRIMES, Justice.

We review Amoroso v. Samuel Friedland Family Enterprises, 604 So.2d 827, 835 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), in which the court certified the following question as being of great public importance:

WHETHER THE DOCTRINE OF STRICT LIABILITY AS TO DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS EXTENDS TO COMMERCIAL LEASE TRANSACTIONS OF THOSE PRODUCTS?

We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution.

The Diplomat Hotel is a waterfront property in Hollywood, Florida. Sunrise Water Sports, Inc. (Sunrise) leased part of the Diplomat's property and operated a sailboat rental stand there. The boats are owned by Sunrise. However, the actual rentals are handled by Atlantic Sailing Center, Inc. (Atlantic) which subleases the rental stand and was organized to operate the rental business at the Diplomat.

The Amorosos were guests at the Diplomat and rented sailboats on three occasions. The third time, Mrs. Amoroso was injured when the sailboat's crossbar broke. As a result of her injuries, Mr. and Mrs. Amoroso sued the Diplomat, Sunrise, Atlantic, and a welder who had repaired the crossbar a few days before the accident.

The Amorosos asserted a claim in strict liability against the Diplomat, Sunrise, and Atlantic. ¹ The trial court directed verdicts in favor of all of the defendants on this claim. The district court of appeal reversed. The court recognized that strict liability is a valid theory of recovery in Florida and held that the doctrine of strict liability extends to commercial lease transactions. ²

The underlying basis for the doctrine of strict liability is that those entities within a product's distributive chain "who profit from the sale or distribution of [the product] to the public, rather than an innocent person injured by it, should bear the financial burden of even an undetectable product defect." North Miami General Hosp., Inc. v. Goldberg, 520 So.2d 650, 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). Those entities are in a better position to ensure the safety of the products they market, to insure against defects in those products, and to spread the cost of any injuries resulting from a defect.

This Court adopted the doctrine of strict liability, as stated by the A.L.I. Restatement (Second) of Torts section 402A (1965), in West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So.2d 80, 87 (Fla.1976). ³ In West, an individual who was injured by a negligently designed grader brought a strict liability action against the manufacturer of the grader. Id. at 82. In adopting strict liability, we recognized that a manufacturer, who places a potentially dangerous product on the market and encourages its use, undertakes a special responsibility toward members of the public who may be injured by the product. Id. at 86. Since West, Florida courts have expanded the doctrine of strict liability to others in the distributive chain including retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. Mobley v. South Florida Beverage Corp., 500 So.2d 292 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (retailers), review denied, 509 So.2d 1117 (Fla.1987); Visnoski v. J.C. Penney Co., 477 So.2d 29 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (distributors); Perry v. Luby Chevrolet, Inc., 446 So.2d 1150 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (retailers); Adobe Bldg. Centers, Inc. v. Reynolds, 403 So.2d 1033 (Fla. 4th DCA) (retailers and wholesalers), review dismissed, 411 So.2d 380 (Fla.1981). In the instant case, we must decide whether the doctrine of strict liability applies to commercial lessors.

In addition to the court below, several other district courts of appeal have already applied the doctrine to commercial lessors. American Aerial Lift, Inc. v. Perez, 629 So.2d 169 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Futch v. Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., 391 So.2d 808 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); Ford v. Highlands Insurance Co., 369 So.2d 77 (Fla. 1st DCA), cert. denied, 378 So.2d 345 (Fla.1979). The courts of many other states have also held that commercial lessors can be held strictly liable for defective products they lease. Allan E. Korpela, Annotation, Products Liability: Application of Strict Liability in Tort Doctrine to Lessor of Personal Property, 52 A.L.R.3d 121 (1973).

In Cintrone v. Hertz Truck Leasing & Rental Service, 45 N.J. 434, 212 A.2d 769, 778-79 (1965), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a truck rental company could be held strictly liable for injuries caused by a defective condition in one of the trucks it leased. In reaching this conclusion, the court found little difference between sales and lease transactions, and recognized that, like a purchaser of new goods, a lessee is entitled to expect that a product is being delivered in a nondefective condition. Id., 212 A.2d at 776-77. In fact, after taking note of the growth of the car and truck rental business, the court suggested that the rationale for imposing strict liability on manufacturers and sellers may even be greater in the context of leased goods as a lessee usually has less opportunity to inspect items and lessors, by repeatedly introducing and reintroducing products into the stream of commerce, are exposing the public to a proportionately greater risk of injury. Id.

In Price v. Shell Oil Co., 2 Cal.3d 245, 85 Cal.Rptr. 178, 179, 466 P.2d 722, 723 (1970), the Supreme Court of California also addressed the application of strict liability to commercial lease transactions. Price involved an aircraft mechanic who was injured when a ladder, which was attached to a gasoline truck, broke. Id., 85 Cal.Rptr. at 179-80, 466 P.2d at 723-24. The truck was leased by the mechanic's employer from Shell Oil Company. Id. at 182, 466 P.2d at 726.

Prior to Price, California courts had applied the doctrine of strict tort liability to manufacturers, retailers, suppliers of personal property, and residential builders. Id. at 181-82, 466 P.2d at 725-26. In determining whether to further expand the strict liability cause of action, the court reasoned:

Such a broad philosophy evolves naturally from the purpose of imposing strict liability which "is to insure that the costs of injuries resulting from defective products are borne by the manufacturers that put such products on the market rather than by the injured persons who are powerless to protect themselves." [Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc., 59 Cal.2d 57, 27 Cal.Rptr. 697, 701, 377 P.2d 897, 901 (1963).] Essentially the paramount policy to be promoted by the rule is the protection of otherwise defenseless victims of manufacturing defects and the spreading throughout society of the cost of compensating them....

... [W]e can perceive no substantial difference between sellers of personal property and non-sellers, such as bailors and lessors. In each instance, the seller or non-seller "places [an article] on the market, knowing that it is to be used without inspection for defects,...." [Greenman, 27 Cal.Rptr. at 700, 377 P.2d at 900.] In light of the policy to be subserved, it should make no difference that the party distributing the article has retained title to it. Nor can we see how the risk of harm associated with the use of the chattel can vary with the legal form under which it is held. Having in mind the market realities and the widespread use of the lease of personalty in today's business world, we think it makes good sense to impose on the lessors of chattels the same liability for physical harm which has been imposed on the manufacturers and retailers. The former, like the latter, are able to bear the cost of compensating for injuries resulting from defects by spreading the loss through an adjustment of the rental.

Price, 85 Cal.Rptr. at 181-82, 466 P.2d at 725-26 (footnote omitted). The court concluded that lessors can be held strictly liable. Id. at 179, 466 P.2d at 723. However, this holding was limited to those lessors "found to be in the business of leasing, in the same general sense as the seller of personalty is found to be in the business of manufacturing or retailing." Id. at 184, 466 P.2d at 728. To do otherwise would work an injustice on those lessors who cannot adjust the costs associated with strict liability in an economically viable manner, such as where the lease is an isolated transaction. Id. at 183, 466 P.2d at 727.

The Diplomat argues that the district court opinion in the instant case "casts too wide a net." They contend that applying the doctrine of strict liability to all commercial lease transactions is unfair. It would cause a vast increase in potential liability which small businesses in Florida would be unable to bear. Thus, if we were to apply the doctrine of strict liability to commercial lease transactions, the Diplomat urges us to limit our holding to those lessors who are "mass dealers in chattel."

However, we note that no state which has applied strict liability to lessors has retreated from this view because of its economic consequences on commercial leasing. Also, we can find no express authority for the proposition that the doctrine of strict liability should be limited to those lessors who can be called "mass dealers in chattel," and, if such authority does exist, it is certainly a minority view. For purposes of applying strict liability, we can discern no reason to differentiate between a business which is a mass dealer in a product and one which is not, provided each is actually engaged in the business of leasing the defective product.

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