Raydel, Ltd. v. Medcalfe

162 So. 2d 910
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 14, 1964
Docket63-215
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 162 So. 2d 910 (Raydel, Ltd. v. Medcalfe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raydel, Ltd. v. Medcalfe, 162 So. 2d 910 (Fla. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

162 So.2d 910 (1964)

RAYDEL, LTD., a corporation, and Alice Ross Soper, Appellants,
v.
Rachel MEDCALFE, Appellee.

No. 63-215.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. Third District.

April 14, 1964.
Rehearing Denied May 4, 1964.

*911 Blackwell, Walker & Gray and Robert G. Young and James E. Tribble, Miami, for appellants.

Nichols, Gaither, Beckham, Colson & Spence and Alan R. Schwartz, Miami, for appellee.

Before CARROLL, TILLMAN PEARSON and HENDRY, JJ.

TILLMAN PEARSON, Judge.

The appellants were defendants in the trial court where the plaintiff-appellee Rachel Medcalfe received a verdict and judgment. The action arose out of an automobile accident in which Mrs. Medcalfe was injured. She alleged liability in the defendants because of their ownership of the car in which she was riding. The negligence alleged was that of Henry Medcalfe, the plaintiff's husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Medcalfe were hired by Mr. and Mrs. Soper as domestic servants. Mrs. Medcalfe was a cook and Mr. Medcalfe was a chauffeur and handy man. Both the couples lived in Montreal, Canada but the Sopers maintained a winter home in Delray Beach, Florida. In 1957, although the Medcalfes owned an automobile, they stored it in Montreal and by arrangement with their employers drove their employers' car to Florida. An understanding had been reached whereby the employees would have the right to use a second car owned by the Sopers for personal transportation during the stay in Florida.

Mr. Soper died in February of 1958 but in December of that year the same arrangement as to the automobiles was made by Mrs. Soper with Mr. and Mrs. Medcalfe.

On the day that the accident occurred, the Medcalfes were given a Sunday off and were using the second car with Mrs. Soper's consent. They were going fishing.

Mrs. Medcalfe sued Mrs. Soper and a corporation, Raydel, Ltd., for her injuries. The automobile was owned by the corporate defendant, which is a family corporation controlled by the individual defendant Alice Ross Soper. The alleged vicarious liability of the defendants is based upon the dangerous instrumentality doctrine and charges the defendants with the negligence of the husband in driving the automobile which the defendants owned and controlled. The trial judge granted a summary judgment *912 for the plaintiff-appellee on the issue of liability. After a trial on the issue of damages alone the plaintiff received a verdict and a judgment for $90,000.00. This appeal followed. We affirm.

The appellants have presented five points on appeal. For the purpose of discussion these points may be summarized in terms of the issues presented, as follows:

1. Did the plaintiff come within the purview of the Florida Guest Statute?[1]

2. Was the husband's negligence imputed to plaintiff?

3. Did the trial judge abuse his discretion in denying defendant's motion for a continuance of the hearing on plaintiff's motion for summary judgment?

4. Did the trial judge err in allowing certain medical testimony?

5. Did the trial judge err in allowing the plaintiff, a married woman, to recover for her own medical expenses?

Upon the first point the defendant, appellants, urge that Mrs. Medcalfe was barred from recovery because she was a guest passenger and gross negligence was not alleged or proved. The question of Mrs. Medcalfe's status arose at the time of the summary judgment for plaintiff as to liability. It is implicit in the granting of the summary judgment as to liability that the trial judge held that Mrs. Medcalfe was not a guest passenger.

As between the plaintiff and her employer it appears without genuine issue of material fact that the plaintiff was not a guest because the use of the automobile constituted a part of the consideration given by Mrs. Soper in return for the services of Mrs. Medcalfe. Peery v. Mershon, 149 Fla. 351, 5 So.2d 694; Miller v. Morse Auto Rentals, Fla.App. 1958, 106 So.2d 204. Cf. Brown v. Killinger, Fla.App. 1962, 146 So.2d 124. It was established by the deposition of Mrs. Soper that she agreed to let the Medcalfes use the Ford car in a continuation of her husband's arrangement. Her testimony shows that the agreement was made (1) to get the Medcalfes to drive her car to Florida and (2) to keep them happy on the job.

Just what constitutes "compensation" for a job is not always easy to determine but it is certainly not limited to money. See Brown v. Killinger, Fla.App. 1962, 146 So.2d 124. In the instant case it appears without dispute that the use of the car was not something given but something bargained for. The defendant Soper cannot now be heard to urge that the use of the car was given only from friendship. There was no dispute on the factual basis for this conclusion and there is no reasonable inference to the contrary from the facts.

We, therefore, hold that upon the basis of the relationship to the driver and the basis of the relationship between the owner and the plaintiff, the court correctly determined that the Florida Guest Statute did not apply under the facts of the case.

The second point requires further examination of the relationship of the parties. *913 The appellants urge that as a matter of law the negligence of the husband was imputed to the plaintiff wife because the automobile had been entrusted by the defendant-employer to the plaintiff-employee and her husband jointly for their use on their day off. One additional fact must be mentioned in discussing this point; it is that the plaintiff, Mrs. Medcalfe, could not drive an automobile.

This point, like the first, arose from the granting of plaintiff's motion for summary judgment upon liability. Here again the trial judge implicitly held as a matter of law that the husband's negligence was not imputed to the wife for to have held otherwise would have given life to defendants' plea of contributory negligence.

We have already determined that the record supports without issue the fact that Mrs. Medcalfe received the enjoyment of the transportation afforded by the car as a part of her compensation for her job. Appellant says that since Mrs. Medcalfe received the right to be transported jointly with her husband she was entitled to an equal voice in the use of the car. Because she could not drive she entrusted her share in the use of the car to her husband so that they could embark on a joint undertaking, the fishing trip. Therefore, appellants urge, the plaintiff having relinquished to her husband her share in the possession and control of the automobile, she became a sort of intermediate owner and was bound by his negligence.

It has been held that an owner-wife is bound by the contributory negligence of a driver-husband in an intersection collision upon a resultant action against the other driver. Weber v. Porco, Fla. 1958, 100 So.2d 146. This holding was reached upon the reasoning that the rule of respondeat superior has been consistently applied in recognizing the liability of an owner of an automobile for the negligent operation of his automobile by one who drives with his expressed or implied permission, knowledge or consent.

Since the preparation of the briefs in this case, this Court has published an opinion dealing with a closely allied situation. See Smith v. Cline, Fla.App. 1963, 158 So.2d 553. Frank Cline and Beulah Cline, husband and wife, were plaintiffs. Frank Cline owned the automobile which was involved in a collision at a street intersection. The car was being driven by the plaintiffs' granddaughter Barbara. Mrs. Cline did not drive.

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Bluebook (online)
162 So. 2d 910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raydel-ltd-v-medcalfe-fladistctapp-1964.