Friedrich v. Fetterman & Associates, P.A.

137 So. 3d 362, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 768, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2328, 2013 WL 5745617
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 24, 2013
DocketNo. SC11-2188
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 137 So. 3d 362 (Friedrich v. Fetterman & Associates, P.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Friedrich v. Fetterman & Associates, P.A., 137 So. 3d 362, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 768, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2328, 2013 WL 5745617 (Fla. 2013).

Opinions

PERRY, J.

The Petitioners seek review of the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Fetterman & Assocs., P.A. v. Friedrich, 69 So.3d 965 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). In this negligence case, the key issue is whether the Fourth District Court of Appeal imper-missibly reweighed the testimony of expert witnesses during trial. We conclude that by reweighing the evidence, the Fourth District’s decision below expressly and directly conflicts with this Court’s decisions in Cox v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, 71 So.3d 795 (Fla.2011), and Gooding v. University Hospital Building, Inc., 445 So.2d 1015 (Fla.1984), and the decisions of other district courts of appeal in Fontana v. Wilson World Maingate Condominium, 717 So.2d 199 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), Yuniter v.A&A Edgewater of Florida, Inc., 707 So.2d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998), and Schneider v. K.S.B. Realty & Investing Corp., 128 So.2d 398 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.

FACTS

On December 10, 2003, Robert Friedrich was in a car accident and as a result he contacted the personal injury firm of Fet-terman & Associates, P.A. (“Fetterman”), and scheduled a consultation to discuss the possibility of legal representation. On December 19, 2003, Friedrich met with an associate of the firm, and was sitting in the firm’s conference room when his chair collapsed. Friedrich fell backward, hit his head, and landed on the floor. A few minutes after the incident, Friedrich was informed that the firm had a conflict and would not be able to represent him in his auto collision case.

After the chair collapse incident, Fried-rich complained of worsening headaches and neck pain, severe back pain, extremity numbness, and sleep disturbances. Fried-rich was seen by multiple doctors for these symptoms for almost two years. Then in 2006, Friedrich underwent a spinal fusion surgery, which alleviated a majority of the symptoms.

Subsequently, Friedrich sued Fetterman for negligence on the grounds that Fried-rich was a business invitee and that Fet-terman had negligently failed to warn Friedrich of the chair’s dangerous condition.

Evidence produced at trial established that the chair was purchased new as part of a set in 1998 and was used daily without incident in the firm’s conference room until Friedrich’s accident in 2003. During that time, no one at Fetterman performed a physical inspection of the chairs, but the chairs were used daily and there was no indication that any of the chairs were not sturdy or had any problems. Engineering experts for both parties agreed that there was á manufacturing defect in the right [364]*364rear joint which was internal and would not be visible to the naked eye. Specifically, both experts testified that the chair collapsed because parts of the chair joint— specifically, the mortise (square hole) and the tenon (square peg) did not fit together properly and the glue used for bonding them eventually failed.

Tony Sasso, the plaintiffs expert, testified that he inspects his own chairs every six months by performing a “flex test” on the chairs.1 Regarding the chair in question, he testified that “a hands-on inspection of the chair before the accident should have found this weak joint.” Fetterman’s expert, Farhad Booeshaghi, testified that the best inspection or test for a chair is for someone to sit on it and that any inspection, including a flex test, would not have revealed the defective joint.

Fetterman moved for a directed verdict at various points during the trial, alleging that the evidence did not establish that the firm had breached any duty and that the plaintiff had failed to establish causation. The trial court denied the motions. The jury determined Fetterman was liable for Friedrich’s injuries. Fetterman moved to set aside the verdict in accordance with prior motions for directed verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. These motions were denied. The trial court then issued a final judgment against Fetterman for a substantial amount.

Fetterman appealed the denial of the motion to set aside the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court and ordered that a directed verdict be entered in favor of Fetterman because Friedrich had not established causation. Fetterman, 69 So.3d at 968.

Friedrich now seeks relief from this Court, asserting that the decision of the Fourth District is in express and direct conflict with this Court’s decision in Cox, Gooding, and Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So.2d 315 (Fla.2001),2 and the decisions of other district courts of appeal in Fontana, Yuniter, and Schneider. For the reasons that follow, we find that the Fourth District erred in holding that the motion for a directed verdict should have been granted and quash the decision on review.

ANALYSIS

The issue before this Court is whether the district court reweighed legally sufficient evidence of causation from the plaintiffs expert witness that a reasonable inspection of the chair, more likely than not, would have revealed the defect of the chair prior to its collapse. In this case, the Fourth District recognized that in Florida a plaintiff seeking to establish a negligence action must demonstrate that the negligence “probably caused” the plaintiffs injury and that the plaintiffs expert testified that periodic inspections of a chair are reasonable and that an inspection of the chair should have detected the defect. Fetterman, 69 So.3d at 968 n. 2. However, the district court determined that “the jury had no basis from which to conclude that Fetterman would have discovered the defect in the chair without receiving evidence as to how long before the accident flex-testing would have revealed the defect.” Id. at 968.

[365]*365“[Under Florida law, all premises owners owe a duty to their invitees to exercise reasonable care to maintain their premises in a safe condition.” Owens, 802 So.2d at 330. Friedrich was Fetterman’s business invitee. As such, Fetterman owed to Friedrich a duty “(1) to use reasonable care to maintain [its] premises in a reasonably safe condition and (2) to warn the invitee of any concealed dangers that the owner knows or should know about, which are unknown to the invitee and cannot be discovered by the invitee through due care.” Morales v. Weil, 44 So.3d 173, 178 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); see also Yuniter, 707 So.2d at 764.

In order to establish causation in a negligence action, “Florida courts follow the more likely than not standard of causation and require proof that the negligence probably caused the plaintiffs injury.” Gooding, 445 So.2d at 1018.

On the issue of the fact of causation, as on other issues essential to his cause of action for negligence, the plaintiff, in general, has the burden of proof. He must introduce evidence which affords a reasonable basis for the conclusion that it is more likely than not that the conduct of the defendant was a substantial factor in bringing about the result. A mere possibility of such causation is not enough; and when the matter remains one of pure speculation or conjecture, or the probabilities are at best evenly balanced, it becomes the duty of the court to direct a verdict for the defendant.

Id. (quoting Prosser, Law of Torts § 41(4th ed. 1971)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
137 So. 3d 362, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 768, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2328, 2013 WL 5745617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friedrich-v-fetterman-associates-pa-fla-2013.