AUTO-OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
JACINTA R. MASSANI, APPELLEE
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Seat Belt Defense cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The trial court abused its discretion in failing to permit the defendant to amend its answer to defeat the last minute motion for judgment on the pleadings. The parties were fully prepared to try the issues of uninsured motorist coverage, liability and comparative negligence. Therefore, it is undisputed that the plaintiff would not have been surprised or prejudiced by this amendment. See St. Petersburg Auto. Museum v. Thompson, 561 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Azemco (N. Am.), Inc. v. Brown, 553 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).
The trial court also erred in directing a verdict against the defendant on its seat belt defense. There was sufficient evidence presented to withstand a motion for directed verdict. See Insurance Co. of N. Am. v. Pasakarnis, 451 So. 2d 447 (Fla.1984).
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial consistent with this opinion.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lindgren Tr. v. Singerman, 657 So. 2d 71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…fendant on the court’s own motion at the pre-trial conference. We reverse for trial because (a) the lower court abused its discretion in denying the plaintiffs motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, see Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Massani, 627 So. 2d 1199 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993), and (b) summary judgment was erroneously entered both because the procedure employed was improper, see Lombard v. Executive Elevator Serv., Inc., 545 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), and because genuine issues of material fact rema…
Authorities Cited
- Ins. Co. OF N. Am. & John Menninger v. Pasakarnis, 451 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 1984)
- Azemco (North America), Inc. v. Brown, 553 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- ST. Petersburg Auto. Museum, Inc. v. Thompson, 561 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)