ZIRICK WEBB, A MINOR, BY HIS GUARDIAN AD LITEM, IDA TANNER, APPELLANT,
v.
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, AND ROBERT WEBB, APPELLEES; ZIRICK WEBB, A MINOR, BY HIS GUARDIAN AD LITEM, IDA TANNER, APPELLANT, V. EDISON TIRE AND SUPPLY COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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A minor child, through his guardian, sued his father and the father's employer for injuries sustained in a car accident caused by the intoxicated father's negligence. The court affirmed summary judgment against the father based on the common law rule that unemancipated minors cannot sue their parents for negligence, and affirmed a jury verdict in favor of the employer.
An unemancipated minor child may not maintain an action against his parent for negligence. Summary judgment for the father was correct. The jury verdict in favor of the employer and its insurer was supported by the evidence, and no reversible error occurred in the trial court's jury instructions.
[1] An unemancipated minor child cannot maintain an action against his parent for the parent's negligence.
[2] A jury verdict will be affirmed if it is not against the manifest weight of the evidence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“an unemancipated minor child may not maintain an action against his parent for negligence of the latter”
Establishes the primary legal rule barring the minor's suit against his father
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceZirick Webb, age nine, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his father Robert Webb, who was an employee of Edison Tire and Supply Company. While at …
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By an amended complaint action was brought by Zirick Webb, a minor through his guardian, against his father Robert Webb and the latter’s automobile liability indemnity insurer, Allstate Insurance Company, and against Edison Tire and Supply Company, and its insurer, Continental Insurance Company. The action was for personal injuries sustained by the minor plaintiff, then nine years of age. The defendant father was an employee of the Edison company. On a certain day, when Webb had the boy with him at his place of employment, Webb became intoxicated. His condition was noted by other employees, including the manager, and there was some discussion among them about having someone drive Webb home. Around noontime Webb took a vehicle owned by the employer, and proceeded to drive home, with his son as a passenger therein. En route he was involved in a collision, when he drove into the rear of another vehicle. The injuries to the boy resulted therefrom.
Summary judgment was entered in favor of defendant Robert Webb and his insurer Allstate. Trial of the cause against the employer and its insurer resulted in a jury verdict in favor of the defendants, upon which judgment was entered. The plaintiff filed separate appeals from those judgments. The appeals were consolidated here.
The summary judgment which denied recovery of the minor against his father (and the latter’s insurer) was correct. The decisions hold that an unemancipated minor child may not maintain an action against his parent for negligence of the latter. Rickard v. Rickard, Fla.App.1967, 203 So.2d 7; Denault v. Denault, Fla.App. 1969, 220 So.2d 27; Orefice v. Albert, Fla.1970, 237 So.2d 142.
In seeking reversal of the judgment based on the verdict rendered by the jury in favor of the senior Webb’s employer and the latter’s insurer, the appellant contends that the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence and that the court committed error in refusing to give certain charges requested by the plaintiff. Upon examination of the requested charges and the charges given, we conclude no reversible error has been demonstrated therein. The argument that the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence is found to be without merit, and we observe no need to lengthen this opinion by discussion of the evidence.
The judgments appealed from are affirmed.
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ARD v. Douglas Perry ARD Ad Litem for Benji Dwain Clary, 414 So. 2d 1066 (Fla. 1982)…hich ALDERMAN, J., concurs. . Ard v. Ard, 395 So. 2d 586, 587, 590 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). The district court cited Horton v. Unigard Ins. Co., 355 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), cert., dismissed, 373 So. 2d 459 (Fla.1979); Webb v. Allstate Ins. Co., 258 So. 2d 840 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); Rickard v. Rickard, 203 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967). . Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla.Const. . Those states that have adopted and retained the immunity include: Owens v. Auto Mut. Indem. Co., 235 Ala. 9, 177 So. 133 (1937); Welter v. C…1 / 2
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Horton v. Unigard INS., 355 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)…er was not subject to an interlocutory appeal and must be dismissed. . Orefice v. Albert, 237 So. 2d 142 (Fla.1970); Wright v. Farmers Reliance Insurance Company of New Jersey, 314 So. 2d 641 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1975); Webb v. Allstate Insurance Company, 258 So. 2d 840 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1972); Denault v. Denault, 220 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969); Rickard v. Rickard, 203 So. 2d 7 (Fla.2d DCA 1969); Meehan v. Meehan, 133 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961).…
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ARD v. ARD, 395 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)…great public importance and involving a conflict with decisions of other district courts in Florida. See Horton v. Unigard Insurance Co., 355 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), cert dismissed, 373 So. 2d 459 (Fla.1979); Webb v. Allstate Insurance Co., 258 So. 2d 840 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); Rickard v. Rickard, 203 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967). The complaint filed in this case against Sylvia Elaine Clary Ard and her two liability insurance carriers alleged that in 1975 she negligently unloaded her child Benji from a…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Orefice v. Albert, 237 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 1970)
- Rickard v. Rickard, 203 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967)
- Denault v. Therese T. Denault & Putnam Lumber & Exp. Co., 220 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969)