Sauer v. Sauer, 1944
| Decision Date | 31 March 1961 |
| Docket Number | No. 1944,1944 |
| Parties | Richard James SAUER, Appellant, v. Helen Gladys SAUER, Hertz Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and Joan Sauer, a single woman, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
James J. Linus, McCune, Hiaasen, Crum & Ferris, Fort Lauderdale, for appellant.
Alvah H. Frier, Jr., Fleming, O'Bryan & Fleming, Fort Lauderdale, for appellees.
The appellee, Joan Sauer, as plaintiff in the lower court filed an action for compensatory and punitive damages against the Hertz Corporation, as owner-bailor of the vehicle in question; against the appellant, Richard James Sauer, as bailee of the vehicle; and against Helen Gladys Sauer, the sister of appellant and as the driver of the vehicle. The complaint alleged that Helen Gladys Sauer, while operating the vehicle in a wilful and wanton and negligent manner, struck the plaintiff, Joan Sauer, and as a result the plaintiff was severely injured. Trial by jury resulted in a verdict of $500 punitive damages against Helen Gladys Sauer; a verdict of $4,500 compensatory damages against all of the defendants; and a verdict of $10,000 punitive damages against the defendant, Richard James Sauer. Final judgments were entered on the above verdicts by the court along with an order taxing costs of $280.30 against all of the defendants. The court then denied the defendant, Richard James Sauer's motion for judgment in accordance with a prior motion for a directed verdict and this appeal was taken only by Richard James Sauer from the final judgment.
The award of punitive damages against the defendant, Richard James Sauer, is the main point presented by this appeal. The character of degree of negligence necessary to sustain an award of punitive damages must be of a gross and flagrant character, evincing reckless disregard of human life, or of the safety of persons exposed to its dangerous effects, or there is that entire want of care which would raise the presumption of a conscious indifference to consequences, or which shows wantonness or recklessness, or a grossly careless disregard of the safety, welfare, and rights of others which is equivalent to an intentional violation of them. Carraway v. Revell, Fla.1959, 116 So.2d 16. The court in the Revell case also noted that the character of negligence necessary to sustain a conviction for manslaughter is the same as required to sustain a recovery for punitive damages with the distinction of course being the degree of proof.
Exemplary or punitive damages are allowed and awarded as a punishment to the defendant and as a warning and example to deter him and others from committing similar offenses in the future. Under this theory, such damages are allowed not as compensatory damages, but rather in addition to such damages, Florida East Coast R. Co. v. McRoberts, 111 Fla. 278, 149 So. 631, 94 A.L.R. 376, when the acts complained of have been committed with malice, moral turpitude, wantonness, outrageous aggravation, or with reckless indifference for the rights and safety of life and limb of others. Glickstein v. Setzer, Fla.1955, 78 So.2d 374.
The foregoing principles present a standard by which we must compare the conduct of defendant in the instant case.
The plaintiff, Joan Sauer, and the defendant, Richard James Sauer, had previously been married to each other and had lived together four months. A son, Joseph Sauer, was born after the separation of the parties but both parties continued to live in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In June, 1959, the plaintiff moved to Fort Lauderdale and subsequently moved in with her sister, Mrs. Lawley, in Pompano Beach, where she and her child continued to live until the time of this altercation.
The defendant and his sister rented an automobile from the defendant, Hertz Corporation, upon arriving at Miami Airport. They traveled to Fort Lauderdale that afternoon trying to locate the address of plaintiff's sister with whom the plaintiff and her child were reportedly staying. After failing to find the plaintiff's sister's name in the Fort Lauderdale telephone directory, the defendant and his sister proceeded to Pompano Beach and located the plaintiff's sister's house sometime around 9:00 p. m. They drove back and forth in front of the house and then rented space in a motel for the night. The next morning without pausing for breakfast, the defendant and his sister put their belongings back into their automobile and proceeded to plaintiff's sister's house. As they approached they observed plaintiff's sister, Mrs. Lawley, and her children, along with plaintiff and her child, get into an automobile and drive away.
The defendant followed a sufficient distance behind so as to not be observed until they arrived at a shopping center. The plaintiff and her party went into a store still without knowledge that they were being followed. The defendant went into the store and picked up the child while plaintiff was examining some merchandise and defendant shouted: 'Now I have got him, ha, ha, ha.' The defendant then ran out of the store with the child and the plaintiff and her party were in hot pursuit. Upon arriving where defendant's automobile was parked, he fell and let go of the child.
The plaintiff attempted to retrieve her child but defendant's sister grabbed plaintiff preventing her from picking up the child. From this point on there was naturally considerable confusion and some of the testimony given is partially conflicting but in essence the following occurred. After defendant's sister grabbed plaintiff, the defendant told his sister to take the child and to get into the automobile. She did. The defendant restrained plaintiff so she could not interfere. By this time defendant's 17 year old sister was in the car with the child and had rolled the windows up and locked the doors.
The defendant then let go of plaintiff and she began pounding on the driver's window shouting, 'Please give me my baby back.' The defendant's sister looked in the direction of her brother, the defendant, and he said: 'Hit her; hit her.' The defendant's sister started the engine, cut the wheels to the right and backed the automobile up suddenly and in so doing plaintiff was thrown up on the left front fender of the automobile. Various witnesses testified that the automobile was backed out of the parking space fast, very fast, suddenly, very rapidly, etc.
The plaintiff slid from the fender and the swerving impact of the left front portion of the automobile tore her clothing and under-garments from her body and a large, deep laceration was opened in her lower abdomen. Despite her condition, the plaintiff again took hold of the automobile trying to hold...
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