John Baird v. Beyer Holdings, LLC

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: October 15, 2025
• Docket: 3D2024-0175
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed October 15, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D24-0175 Lower Tribunal No. 20-CA-339-K ________________

John Baird, Appellant,

vs.

Beyer Holdings, LLC, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Timothy J. Koenig, Judge.

Leesfield & Partners, P.A., and Justin Shapiro, and Samson Appellate Law, and Daniel M. Samson, B.C.S., for appellant.

Marlow Adler Abrams & Rotunno, and Phillip Glatzer, for appellee.

Before FERNANDEZ, MILLER, and LOBREE, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Appellant, John Baird, challenges a final summary judgment rendered

in favor of appellee, Beyer Holdings, LLC, in his negligence action involving

a motorcycle-automobile collision. Having carefully conducted a de novo

review, we conclude that material factual issues as to whether overgrown

foliage on Beyer’s property obstructed Baird’s view of the intersection where

the accident occurred, in violation of visibility requirements codified in the

Code of Ordinances and the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Key West,

precluded the grant of summary judgment. See Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen

at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000) (summary judgment

orders are reviewed de novo); Serrano v. Dickinson, 363 So. 3d 162, 165

(Fla. 4th DCA 2023) (“Credibility determinations, the weighing of the

evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury

functions, not those of a judge, whether he is ruling on a motion for summary

judgment or for a directed verdict.”) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,

477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986)).

Reversed and remanded.