Wiggs & Maale Const. Co. v. Harris, s. Z-21

• Decision Date: 15 July 1977
• Docket Number: Z-63 and Z-116,Nos. Z-21,s. Z-21
• Citation: 348 So.2d 914
• Parties: WIGGS AND MAALE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, Appellant, v. John D. HARRIS, etc., et al., Appellees. BLACKSTONE DEVELOPERS, a partnership, Appellant, v. John D. HARRIS, etc., et al., Appellees. ED WATERS AND SONS CONTRACTING COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. BLACKSTONE DEVELOPERS, a partnership, etc., et al., Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 914

348 So.2d 914

WIGGS AND MAALE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, Appellant, v. John D. HARRIS, etc., et al., Appellees.

BLACKSTONE DEVELOPERS, a partnership, Appellant, v. John D. HARRIS, etc., et al., Appellees.

ED WATERS AND SONS CONTRACTING COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. BLACKSTONE DEVELOPERS, a partnership, etc., et al., Appellees.

Nos. Z-21, Z-63 and Z-116.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

July 15, 1977.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 2, 1977.

John E. Houser, John I. Todd, Jr., J. Edwin Gay, Rogers, Towers, Bailey, Jones & Gay, Jacksonville, for appellants.

J. Edwin Gay, Rogers, Towers, Bailey, Jones & Gay, and John I. Todd, Steven A. Werber, John E. Houser, Jacksonville, for appellees.

MILLS, Judge.

Blackstone Developers (Blackstone) and Wiggs and Maale Construction Company (Wiggs), defendants below, appeal from a final judgment entered in favor of Harris, Mixon and Penland, plaintiffs below, following a jury trial in a negligence action for damage to a building. In addition, Wiggs, cross-defendant below, appeals from a final judgment entered in favor of Blackstone, cross-plaintiff below, following a directed verdict in an indemnification action and Wiggs, cross-plaintiff and cross-defendant below, appeals from a final judgment entered in favor of Ed Waters and Sons Contracting Company, Inc. (Waters), cross-defendant and cross-plaintiff below, following a jury trial in indemnification actions Wiggs and Waters brought against each other. Although Waters appealed, it abandoned its appeal. The appeals have been consolidated for our consideration.

Blackstone owned property adjacent to and south of the Law Exchange Building. Blackstone wished to construct a building on its property. Wiggs was the general contractor on the project. Wiggs contracted with Waters to install sheet pile along the northern property line. The sheet pile was installed on 4 May 1972, and on 17 May the south wall of the Law Exchange Building settled causing it to crack. The owner of the Law Exchange Building instituted this suit against Blackstone, Wiggs and Waters. Various cross claims were filed by the defendants.

At the trial, testimony was presented that the damage to the Law Exchange Building was caused by sand under the building being compacted by the pile driving operations. The verdict forms permitted the jury to find for the plaintiffs either against Blackstone, Wiggs and Waters, or to find for the plaintiffs against only Blackstone and Wiggs. The closing arguments of counsel and the instructions of the court made it clear that the jury should not return a verdict against all three unless the jury found that the pile driving was performed in a negligent manner. The jury returned a verdict against all three defendants, thus finding Waters negligent in performing pile driving.

The court directed a verdict in favor of Blackstone against Wiggs and Waters and the case was then submitted to the jury on Wiggs' cross claim against Waters and Waters' cross...