JULE URBAN CYBROSKI, AS LEGAL GUARDIAN OF THE PROPERTY OF MELANIE RODRIGUEZ, A MINOR, APPELLANT,
v.
JANET WRIGHT, BLAIR WRIGHT, SHARON RODRIGUEZ AND RICARDO RAMON RODRIGUEZ, APPELLEES
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A guardian appeals a summary judgment dismissing a negligence action against a parent for failing to ensure her child wore a seat belt. The court holds that Florida's Safety Belt Law does not eliminate a parent's common law duty of care to protect their child from harm, and that such claims may proceed to the extent of parental liability insurance.
Florida's Safety Belt Law does not displace the common law right to bring a negligence action against a parent for failing to exercise the duty of care owed to their child. Parents retain liability for failing to protect their children from foreseeable harm, and evidence of a child's failure to wear a seat belt may be considered as comparative negligence rather than barring the claim entirely.
[1] Florida law permits an unemancipated minor to sue a parent for negligence to the extent of the parent's liability insurance coverage.
[2] A parent has a duty to exercise ordinary prudence to protect their children from harm.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Florida law allows an unemancipated minor to maintain a negligence action against a parent to the extent of the parent's liability insurance.”
Establishes the foundational principle that allows Cybroski's action to proceed
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMelanie Rodriguez, a minor, suffered injuries while riding in a car driven by her mother, Sharon Rodriguez. The guardian alleged the injuries could ha…
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STEVENSON, C.J.
Jule Cybroski, the legal guardian of Melanie Rodriguez, appeals a final judgment entered in favor of Melanie’s parents, Sharon and Ricardo Ramon Rodriguez, for injuries Melanie suffered while riding in a car driven by the mother. For the reasons outlined below, we reverse the final judgment and remand the case to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Florida law allows an unemancipated minor to maintain a negligence action against a parent to the extent of the parent’s liability insurance. See Ard v. Ard, 414 So. 2d 1066 (Fla.1982). Cybroski brought this suit based on the duty of care parents have to protect their children from harm, alleging that Melanie’s injuries could have been prevented had her mother ensured she utilized a seat belt. See Machin v. Walgreen Co., 835 So. 2d 284, 285 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (“[Pjarents have a constant and continuous duty as ordinary, prudent persons to watch over, supervise, and protect their children who are too young to exercise judgment to care for themselves.”).
In granting summary judgment in favor of the parents, the trial court concluded that the Florida Safety Belt Law, Florida Statutes section 316.614,1 precluded a cause of action. Pursuant to section 316.614(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2005), it is illegal to “operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each passenger and the operator of the vehicle under the age of 18 years are restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable.”
A violation of the provisions of this section shall not constitute negligence per se, nor shall such violation be used as prima facie evidence of negligence or be considered in mitigation of damages, but such violation may be considered as evidence of comparative negligence, in any civil action.
§ 316.614(10), Fla. Stat. (2005). The trial court interpreted this section to mean that evidence of Melanie’s failure to wear a seat belt could be admissible only as “evidence of comparative negligence.” We disagree. “In determining the meaning of a statute we must look to the intent of the Legislature in enacting that statute.” Carlile v. Game Fresh Water Fish Comm’n, 354 So. 2d 362, 364 (Fla.1977). “[T]he presumption is that no change in the common law is intended unless the statute is explicit in this regard.” Id. (citation omitted). In Ridley v. Safety Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934, 941 (Fla.1996), the supreme court explained that “the 1990 amendment [of section 316.614] was enacted to clarify and standardize the manner in which a plaintiffs failure to use a seat belt was to be utilized in a civil action, and to preclude the possibility that an injured plaintiff would be penalized twice for failing to use an available seat belt.” There is no indication the Legislature intended to eliminate a parent’s liability for failing to protect his or her child. Thus, contrary to the parents’ assertions, section 316.614 did not displace the common law right to bring a cause of action for a parent’s failure to exercise a duty of care.
Accordingly, we reverse the judgment on appeal and remand for further proceedings consistent with this decision.
Reversed and Remanded.
FARMER, J., and MARX, KRISTA, Associate Judge, concur. . The trial court cited section 316.613 in its written order. Section 316.613 refers to the use of child restraint devices when transporting children five years of age or younger. Because Melanie was twelve-years-old at the time of the accident, we assume the trial court’s reference to section 316.613, instead of section 316.614, was a scrivener’s error.
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Cited By
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Quarantello v. Leroy, 977 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)…the ages of six and eighteen would. be allowed to recover in a negligence action against a caretaker based on evidence that the child was not [*654] properly restrained by a seat belt under section 316.614, Florida Statutes, see Cybroski v. Wright, 927 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), but injured children five years of age or younger would not be allowed to recover based on the prohibition of similar evidence under section 316.613(3). Both sections 316.613 and 316.614 were enacted in large part to protect chi…
Authorities Cited
- Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm'n of the State of Fla., 354 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 1977)
- ARD v. Douglas Perry ARD Ad Litem for Benji Dwain Clary, 414 So. 2d 1066 (Fla. 1982)
- Ridley v. Safety Kleen Corp., 693 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 1996)
- MacHin v. Walgreen Co., 835 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)