JEAN PAUL BERNAL, ET AL.
v.
RIGOBERTO DORTICOS, ET AL.
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Unambiguous statutory language regarding liability limits for commercial motor vehicles must be applied according to its plain and obvious meaning without resort to judicial construction.
[1] Under Florida law, statutory damage caps for liability limits on commercial motor vehicles are not affirmative defenses and do not bar or void the underlying cause of act…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the authoritative statement is the . . . text, not the legislative history or any other extrinsic material”
Citing State v. Arshadnia for the principle that in statutory construction cases, the text itself is authoritative, not legislative history or extrinsic materials.
This case involves an appeal concerning the application of Florida statutory provisions governing liability limits for motor vehicles used in commerci…
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Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida
Opinion filed October 22, 2026.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
No. 3D25-1519 Lower Tribunal No. 20-2440-CA-01
Jean Paul Bernal, et al., Appellants,
vs.
Rigoberto Dorticos, et al., Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Migna Sanchez-Llorens, Judge.
COLE SCOTT & KISSANE, P.A., and Lissette Gonzalez, for appellants.
Tyler Law Firm, and Ryan C. Tyler; Pita Weber Del Prado, and Randy M. Weber; Zediker Law Firm, and Garrett T. Zediker for appellee Rigoberto Dorticos; Carlton Fields, P.A., and Dean A. Morande (West Palm Beach), and Nicholas E. Athanas (Atlanta, GA), for appellee Infinity Auto Insurance Company.
Before MILLER, LOBREE, and GOODEN, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See State v. Arshadnia, 388 So. 3d 194, 197 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) ("In cases involving statutory construction, the cardinal rule is that 'the authoritative statement is the . . . text, not the legislative history or any other extrinsic material.” (quoting Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 568 (2005))); State v. Jett, 626 So. 2d 691, 693 (Fla. 1993) (“It is a settled rule of statutory construction that unambiguous language is not subject to judicial construction, however wise it may seem to alter the plain language."); A.R. Douglass, Inc. v. McRainey, 137 So. 157, 159 (Fla. 1931) ("When the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no occasion for resorting to the rules of statutory interpretation and construction; the statute must be given its plain and obvious meaning.”); § 324.021(9)(c)1., Fla. Stat. (2017) (“The limits on liability in subparagraphs (b)2. and 3. do not apply to an owner of motor vehicles that are used for commercial activity in the owner's ordinary course of business . . . ."); § 324.021(9)(c)2., Fla. Stat. (2017) (lifting the limits of liability as to commercial motor vehicles only “if, at the time of the incident, the commercial motor vehicle is being used in the transportation of the materials found to be hazardous . . . ."); see also Lynn v. Feldmeth, 849 So. 2d 481, 483 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (holding "the statutory damage cap is not an affirmative defense because it does not, in whole or in part, bar or void the cause of action").
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- A. R. Douglass, Inc. v. McRainey, 102 Fla. 1141 (Fla. 1931)
- Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546 (U.S. 2005)
- Lynn v. Feldmeth, 849 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)