State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Hicks

Citation184 So.2d 685
Decision Date25 March 1966
Docket NumberNo. 5596,5596
PartiesSTATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Lloyd Warren HICKS and Mabel Naoml Hicks, his wife, Appellees.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Florida (US)

David J. Williams of Langston & Massey, Lakeland, for appellant.

Oliver L. Green, Jr., Lakeland, for appellees.

HOBSON, Judge.

The appellees, plaintiffs below, sued the appellant, defendant, on an oral contract of fire insurance. The case was tried before a jury and a verdict was entered in favor of the appellees in the amount of $20,000. The verdict was reduced by the amount of $1,500 by order of the trial court upon a finding that the evidence was insufficient to support appellees' claim for damages to personal property. After appellees filed a remittitur of the said $1,500 a final judgment was rendered against the appellant in the amount of $18,500. It is from this final judgment that the appellant appeals.

The law is well settled in Florida that a contract of fire insurance may be established orally. The essentials necessary to establish an oral contract of fire insurance are the same as if it were in writing. These essentials were set forth in Collins v. Aetna Ins. Co., Fla.1931, 103 Fla. 848, 138 So. 369, as follows:

'* * * the subject-matter, the risk insured against, the amount of insurance, the rate of premium, the duration of the risk, and the identity of the parties.'

We have carefully reviewed the record in this case and although the evidence is conflicting, we find that there was competent substantial evidence before the jury for it to determine that all necessary essentials were present for it to render a verdict for the appellees.

The law is well settled that an appellate court cannot place itself in the shoes of the jury, even though it might disagree with the jury's verdict, if there is competent and substantial evidence which accords with logic and reason before the jury to sustain its verdict. Glass v. Parrish, Fla.1951, 51 So.2d 717.

We have carefully considered the appellant's other assignments of error and have determined that they are without merit. Therefore, the final judgment upon the jury verdict entered in the court below is affirmed.

SHANNON, Acting C.J., and BRUTON, JAMES D., Jr., Associate Judge, concur.

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13 cases
  • Nu-Air Mfg. Co. v. Frank B. Hall & Co. of New York
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • July 24, 1987
    ...(Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1980); Burns v. Consolidated Am. Ins. Co., 359 So.2d 1203, 1207 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1978); State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Hicks, 184 So.2d 685, 686 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.), cert. denied, 189 So.2d 634 (1966). Such a contract, like any other contract, results from an offer and an......
  • W.S. Badcock Corp. v. Myers
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • December 17, 1996
    ...group of persons bearing similar risks. 5. The payment of a premium for the assumption of risk. See also State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Hicks, 184 So.2d 685, 686 (Fla. 2d DCA), cert. denied, 189 So.2d 634 (Fla.1966)(the essentials of a contract of insurance are the subject matter, the ri......
  • Southtrust Bank and Right v. Export Ins. Serv.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • February 19, 2002
    ...1291, 1293 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Monogram Products, Inc. v. Berkowitz, 392 So.2d 1353 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980); State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Hicks, 184 So.2d 685 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966). "[O]ral contracts to procure insurance and oral contracts of insurance" are enforceable as long as the oral con......
  • Burns v. Consolidated American Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • June 27, 1978
    ...no way raises a genuine issue of material fact as to the existence of such a parol contract of insurance. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Hicks, 184 So.2d 685 (Fla.2d DCA 1966). The entry of the final summary judgment in favor of Consolidated American Insurance Co. on the basis of no in......
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