White v. Martinez, 77-79

• Decision Date: 02 May 1978
• Docket Number: No. 77-79,77-79
• Citation: 359 So.2d 7
• Parties: Royal Odell WHITE, Jr., et al., Appellants, v. Oswaldo Tomas MARTINEZ et al., Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 7

359 So.2d 7

Royal Odell WHITE, Jr., et al., Appellants, v. Oswaldo Tomas MARTINEZ et al., Appellees.

No. 77-79.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Third District.

May 2, 1978.

Rehearing Denied June 2, 1978.

Goodwin, Ryskamp, Welcher & Carrier, Miami, for appellants.

Alldredge & Gray, Miami, for appellees.

Before PEARSON, HUBBART and KEHOE, JJ.

KEHOE, Judge.

Appellants, defendants below, bring this appeal from an order entered by the trial court granting appellees', plaintiffs below, motion for a new trial for damages. The sole point on appeal is whether the trial judge abused his judicial discretion in entering the order granting a new trial. In our opinion, the trial judge did abuse his discretion in granting the motion for a new trial; therefore, the order appealed is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions to reinstate the jury verdict and to enter a judgment based on the verdict.

After a jury trial in this personal injury case, the trial judge entered an order granting appellees' motion for a new trial on the issue of damages. The order reads, in pertinent part, as follows:

"The court, as a result of its close observation of the behavior and demeanor of the witnesses who testified in this cause, including the plaintiffs, Oswaldo Tomas Martinez and Nereida Martinez, his wife, and the testimony elicited from the medical witnesses, and because of its direct contact with the actual trial and its feelings as to the evidence and issues presented, and based on its knowledge and experience, is of the opinion that the verdict of $1,392.00 awarded to the plaintiffs in this cause was against the manifest weight of the evidence and was so inadequate under the facts presented in this particular case as to shock the judicial conscience of the court, and the damages were grossly inadequate and were obviously induced by some prejudice or passion or some misconception of the law or evidence."

We note that the sum of appellees' actual out-of-pocket medical expenses was $1,122; consequently, the jury verdict for damages in the amount of $1,392 was only $270 more than appellees' actual medical expenses.

In considering the principles applicable to a trial judge's consideration of a motion for a new trial, we know from the leading case of Cloud v. Fallis, 110 So.2d 669 (Fla.1959) (hereinafter cited as Cloud ), that:

"When a motion for a new trial is made, it is directed to the sound, broad discretion of the trial judge, Poindexter v. Seaboard Air Line R. Co., Fla., 56 So.2d 905; Mead v. Bentley, Fla., 61 So.2d 428, who because of his contact with the trial and his observation of the behavior of those upon whose testimony the finding of fact must be based is better positioned than any other one person fully to comprehend the processes by which the ultimate decision of the triers of fact, the jurors, is reached, . . ." Id. at 673.

The Court further stated that it is the duty of a trial judge to grant a new trial when he "concludes that the verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence," or if he determines that the jury has been influenced by extra-record considerations or misled by the force and credibility of the evidence. Id. at 673. However, this "broad discretion" does not give a trial judge unbridled discretion to order a new trial. Consequently, to facilitate intelligent review of such orders so that appellate courts can ascertain whether a trial judge has abused his discretion, the reasons which produced the need for a new trial must be set forth in the order. Stewart Bonded Warehouse, Inc. v. Bevis, 294 So.2d 315, 317 (Fla.1974). This requirement gives rise to the question of what reasons must be contained in an order for a new trial to enable it to withstand appellate review. Beginning with Cloud and extending to the recent case of Wackenhut Corporation v. Canty, 359 So.2d 430 (Fla.1978) (hereinafter cited as Wackenhut ), a consistent standard has emerged. In discussing this standard, the Court in Wackenhut at 8 stated as follows:

"Although an order for new trial need not incant language to the effect that the verdict is (1) against the manifest weight of the evidence or (2) was influenced by considerations outside the record, the order must give reasons which will support one of these two conclusions so that it will be susceptible of appellate review. See Thompson v. Williams, 253 So.2d 897 (Fla.3d DCA 1971). Orders granting motions for new trials should articulate reasons for so doing so that appellate courts may be able to fulfill their duty of review by determining whether judicial discretion has been abused." (Emphasis added.)

Applying these principles to the instant case, we note that the order appealed sets forth both of the conclusions mentioned in the above quoted passage from Wackenhut. However, the order neither...