FRANKLIN NEWMAN, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE ESTATE OF SALLY NEWMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIAM HERRIN, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Franklin Newman, as personal representative of his wife Sally Newman's estate, appealed a summary judgment dismissing his negligence action against William Herrin arising from a fatal motor vehicle collision. The court reversed the summary judgment, finding that evidence regarding the excessive brightness of Herrin's modified jeep lights and unlawful headlight height created a genuine issue of material fact for jury determination.
The court held that the evidence regarding the brightness of Herrin's jeep lights and the unlawful height of his headlights was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact, precluding summary judgment and requiring a jury trial.
[1] A party moving for summary judgment must conclusively demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact.
[2] In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must draw every possible inference in favor of the nonmoving party.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A party moving for summary judgment must show conclusively the absence of any genuine issue of material fact. In deciding such motion, the trial court is obligated to draw every possible inference in favor of the nonmoving party.”
Establishes the legal standard for summary judgment review that favors the nonmoving party
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn January 1, 1992, Sally Newman was killed in a motor vehicle collision while driving a 1988 Toyota pickup truck. Franklin Newman was a passenger in …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Frivolous Motion cases and more on FLexlaw
JOANOS, Judge.
Sally Newman was killed in a motor vehicle collision while driving a 1988 Toyota pickup truck. Franklin Newman, appellant, was a passenger in the vehicle driven by his wife. As personal representative of his wife’s es tate, he appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of William Herrin, appellee, in the negligence action appellant filed in connection with the motor vehicle accident. We reverse.
The fatal collision occurred in the early morning hours of January 1,1992. Appellee was driving a jeep equipped with oversized tires and bumper, a V-8 engine, extra lights mounted on the bumpers, and KC Daylight-ers mounted across the top of the vehicle.1 At the time of the accident, appellee was traveling along a straightaway, and the vehicle driven by Mrs. Newman had just come out of a curve. Appellant’s testimony reflects that as the Newman vehicle rounded the curve, the lights coming at them were so bright that they filled the whole interior of the cab with light. Appellant looked away from the light, then the vehicles collided. The Highway Patrol investigation indicates that both vehicles were traveling forty to fifty miles per hour, when the Newman vehicle crossed the centerline of the highway into the lane traveled by appellee.
A party moving for summary judgment must show conclusively the absence of any genuine issue of material fact. In deciding such motion, the trial court is obligated to draw every possible inference in favor of the nonmoving party. Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666, 668 (Fla.1985). “[I]f a record reflects the existence of any genuine issue of material fact or the possibility of any issue, or if the record raises even the slightest doubt that an issue might exist, that doubt must be resolved against the moving party, and summary judgment must be denied.” Hervey v. Alfonso, 650 So. 2d 644, 646 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). See also Thoma v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., 649 So. 2d 277, 278 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Tretten v. Irrgang, 654 So. 2d 1297 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).
We conclude the evidence that the lights on appellee’s modified jeep were so bright that they filled the whole interior of the Newman vehicle with light, together with evidence concerning the unlawful height of appellee’s headlights, is sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. Where the case is extremely close on the question of negligence, doubt should be resolved in favor of a jury trial. Bess v. 17545 Collins Avenue, Inc., 98 So. 2d 490, 492 (Fla.1957).
Accordingly, we reverse the grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee, and remand for further proceedings.
WEBSTER, J., and REYNOLDS, Associate Judge, concur. . Appellee acknowledged in his deposition that he had been cited for the unlawful height of his headlights. Other evidence of the jeep's unlaw-M headlight height appears in the deposition testimony of the Highway Patrol trooper who conducted the accident investigation.
Appellee seeks rehearing or clarification of the September 5, 1995, opinion filed in this cause. In his motion, appellant asserts, inter alia, that the appellee’s deposition is devoid of any mention of being cited for the height of his headlights, and there is no record of the height of appellee’s headlights or testimony that the headlight height was the proximate cause of the accident. Appellant filed a reply to the motion for rehearing together with a motion for sanctions in the form of attorney’s fees and costs. As grounds for the imposition of sanctions, appellant asserts the motion for rehearing was frivolous or filed in bad faith for the purpose of delay.
We deny the motions for rehearing and for sanctions, but amend the footnote by substituting the following in lieu of the language which appeared in the footnote in the opinion issued in September 1995:
In his deposition, appellee acknowledged that he had been cited for the unlawful height of his bumpers. He further stated that the oversized tires mounted on his modified jeep raised the bumper too high. Evidence concerning the jeep’s possibly unlawful headlight height appears in the deposition testimony of the Highway Patrol trooper who conducted the accident investigation.
In all other respects, the motions filed by appellee and appellant are denied.
WEBSTER, J., and REYNOLDS, Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Brockney v. Centel Cellular Co. OF Fort Walton Beach Ltd. P'ship, 950 So. 2d 445 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…54 So. 2d 896, 897 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). If the record “raises even the slightest doubt that [a genuine issue of material fact] might exist, that doubt must be resolved against the moving party, and summary judgment must be denied.” Newman v. Herrin, 667 So. 2d 271, 272 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). Because whether Centel had a duty of care to the decedent is a question of law, the trial court’s ruling on Centel’s motion for summary judgment is subject to de novo review on appeal. See Major League Baseball v. Morsani,…
Authorities Cited
- Moore v. Morris, 475 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 1985)
- Hervey v. Alfonso, 650 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Bess v. 17545 Collins Ave., Inc., 98 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1957)
- Thoma v. Cracker Barrel OLD Country Store, Inc., 649 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- Ansten Tretten and Philip Tretten v. Irrgang, 654 So. 2d 1297 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Warren F.X. Smith v. Broward Cnty., 654 So. 2d 1297 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)