Scott v. Otis Elevator Co., 95-1318
| Citation | 680 So.2d 462 |
| Decision Date | 11 March 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-1318,95-1318 |
| Parties | 21 Fla. L. Weekly D648 Elinor J. SCOTT and Joe Scott, her husband, Appellants, v. OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert Scott Cox, David H. Burns and William D. Anderson of Cox & Burns, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellants.
Jaime D. Liang of Granger, Santry, Mitchell & Heath, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellee.
Appellants, Elinor J. Scott and Joe Scott, challenge a final judgment that set aside a jury verdict in their favor on their negligence claim and directed a verdict for appellee, Otis Elevator Company, which was the defendant below, on the basis that the Scotts failed to establish proximate cause. We reverse and remand with directions to reinstate the jury verdict.
When considering the propriety of a directed verdict, the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, with every conflict and inference resolved in his or her favor, and a directed verdict is improper if there is any evidence to support a possible verdict for the nonmoving party. Pritchett v. Jacksonville Auction, Inc., 449 So.2d 364, 365 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Trend Realty of Gainesville, Inc. v. Bullard, 461 So.2d 298, 299 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); McDonald v. McGowan, 402 So.2d 1197, 1199 (Fla. 5th DCA), review dismissed sub nom. Allmon v. McDonald, 411 So.2d 380 (Fla.1981). A directed verdict in a negligence action should only be entered if the plaintiff could not recover under any reasonable view of the evidence. Pritchett, 449 So.2d at 365.
We conclude that the expert testimony the Scotts offered, while weak, was sufficient to establish a prima facie case of negligence, including the proximate cause element.
REVERSED and REMANDED with directions to reinstate the jury verdict.
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...reasonable view of the evidence. See Bruce Constr. Corp. v. State Exch. Bank, 102 So.2d 288, 291 (Fla.1958); Scott v. Otis Elevator Co., 680 So.2d 462, 462 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). On a motion for directed verdict, the non-moving party is entitled to all reasonable inferences from the facts tha......
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...v. Strange, 126 So.2d 898 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961)); Houghton v. Bond, 680 So.2d 514 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); see also Scott v. Otis Elevator Co., 680 So.2d 462, 462 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996) ("A directed verdict in a negligence action should only be entered if the plaintiff could not recover under any re......