W. W. GAY MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS, INC., A CORPORATION AND TIDEWATER CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, A CORPORATION, APPELLANTS,
v.
OLIVER GALE AND GERALDINE GALE, HIS WIFE, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1973-10-23
No. S-290
284 So. 2d 455 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1973) Caution
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

W. W. Gay Mechanical Contractors and Tidewater Construction Corporation appealed a jury verdict awarding damages to Oliver Gale for injuries sustained when he stepped into a hole in a cement floor during construction work. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding substantial evidence supported the verdict and the trial court properly submitted issues of duty and proximate cause to the jury.


Holding

The appellate court affirmed the judgment, concluding that the issues raised by appellants were properly submitted to the jury with appropriate instructions, and that substantial evidence supported the verdicts. The court held it is not the province of the appellate court to substitute its judgment for that of the fact-finder when substantial evidence supports the verdict.


Headnotes

[1] A reviewing court will affirm a jury verdict and judgment when there is substantial evidence to support the verdict and the trial court properly submitted issues to the j…

[2] A general contractor may be liable for injuries sustained by an employee of a subcontractor if the general contractor owes a duty of care to the subcontractor's employee…

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Key Quotes

“It is not the province of this Court to substitute its judgment for that of the trier of facts where, as in this case, there is substantial evidence to support the verdict and judgment entered.”

Establishes the standard of review on appeal—appellate courts defer to jury verdicts when substantial evidence supports them.

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1969, Gilman Paper Company contracted with Tidewater Construction to erect a building to house a boiler, and with Babcock & Wilcox (Gale's employer…

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Opinion of the Court
JOHNSON, Judge.

JOHNSON, Judge.

Defendants below seek reversal of a final judgment, rendered pursuant to jury verdict, awarding plaintiff Oliver Gale $135,000 and plaintiff Geraldine Gale, his wife, $34,000, as damages arising out of an accident in which plaintiff Oliver Gale was injured.

The material facts of this case are as herein set forth. In 1969, Gilman Paper Company, located in Georgia, let two independent contracts for the erection, installation and construction of a multi-story boiler and a structure to house the boiler. One contract went to appellant Tidewater Construction Corporation to erect the building which would house and surround the boiler. The other contract went to appellee Oliver Gale’s employer, Babcock and Wilcox, for the installation of the boiler to be placed inside the structure erected by Tidewater. Appellant Tidewater let a subcontract to appellant W.

W. Gay Mechanical Contractors, Inc. for the erection, placement and connection of steam lines running through the floor to the boiler. While performing work for his employer, Babcock & Wilcox, appellee Gale was injured when he stepped into a twenty-four inch hole in the cement floor near the boiler. The present suit was instituted against appellant Tidewater and its subcontractor, W.

W. Gay, to recover damages arising as a result of the accident, and verdicts were returned in favor of appellees as noted above.

We do not deem it necessary herein to set forth all the details adduced at the trial concerning the occurrence of the accident. The jurors, through voluminous testimony, were well-apprised of the physical surroundings of the facility in which the parties were performing their contracts; the appearance, dimensions and condition of the hole and collar surrounding it; the nature of each parties’ duties as well as normal operating procedures; and the factual details leading up to the accident.

The appellants herein challenge the sufficiency and competency of the evidence to support the verdicts rendered, the legal duties owed by them to appellee Oliver Gale, and the issue of proximate cause. We have thoroughly and carefully examined the entire record in this cause, as w.ell as the briefs filed by the respective parties. It is our conclusion that the issues raised by appellants in this appeal were properly submitted to the jurors with appropriate instructions from the trial judge. It is not the province of this Court to substitute its judgment for that of the trier of facts where, as in this case, there is substantial evidence to support the verdict and judgment entered. Appellants having failed to demonstrate that reversible error occurred in the proceedings below, the judgment appealed is accordingly affirmed.

WIGGINTON, Acting C. J., and SPEC-TOR, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Acco, Inc. v. Kozak, 424 So. 2d 171 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Green v. Sansom, 41 Fla. 94, 25 So. 332 (1899); W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractors, Inc. v. Gale, 284 So. 2d 455 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973).…

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