Dead Man'S Statute (Fla. Stat. § 90.05)

33 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Broward Nat'l Bank OF Fort Lauderdale v. Bear
  125 So. 2d 760· Fla. 2d DCA· 1961-01-04 ·cited 32×
  The Florida Court of Appeal reversed a trial court judgment that admitted testimony from defendants about payment of a promissory note to a deceased person, holding that such testimony violated the Dead Man's Statute by allowing interested parties to testify about transactions wi
• Bordacs v. Kimmel
  139 So. 2d 506· Fla. 3d DCA· 1962-04-03 ·cited 30×
  Andy Bordacs, as executor of Gladys Bordacs's estate, appealed a decree of specific performance requiring reconveyance of real property to Carolyn Kimmel. The court affirmed, holding that Bordacs waived the protection of Florida's dead man's statute by using Kimmel's depositions
• Dorothy v. Traurig
  102 So. 2d 165· Fla. 3d DCA· 1958-04-08 ·cited 28×
  Dorothy Traurig sued the executor of Abraham Bloom's estate, claiming an oral contract whereby Bloom promised to compensate her for services by including her in his will. The trial court directed a verdict for the defendant, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that the evid
• Al Martel v. Carlson
  118 So. 2d 592· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-03-03 ·cited 25×
  The court held that while the evidence was insufficient to establish a contract to make a will, the joint assessment of costs against the plaintiffs was improper and required apportionment.
• Parker v. Priestley
  39 So. 2d 210· Fla.· 1949-03-04 ·cited 24×
  The appellate court reviewed a judgment for a plaintiff against a deceased's estate for goods sold and rent. The court affirmed the judgment for rent but reversed the judgment for goods sold, finding insufficient evidence and a strong presumption against the claim's validity due
• Matthews v. Olive M. Matthews & Soft Water Laundry, Inc.
  177 So. 2d 497· Fla. 2d DCA· 1965-07-09 ·cited 23×
  An estate administrator sued to recover shares of corporate stock allegedly fraudulently transferred by a controlling shareholder after the decedent's death. The trial court dismissed after finding insufficient evidence of fraud and that the claim was barred by laches. The appell
• Schenkel v. The Atl. Nat'l Bank OF Jacksonville
  141 So. 2d 327· Fla. 1st DCA· 1962-05-17 ·cited 23×
  Helen Schenkel appealed a trial court's order granting a new trial in her action against Atlantic National Bank, as executor of Katherine Falconer's estate, seeking compensation for nursing and personal care services rendered over an 11-year period. The appellate court affirmed t
• Small v. Rose Shure by her Conservator City Nat'l Bank & Tr. Co. of Chicago
  94 So. 2d 371· Fla.· 1957-04-10 ·cited 22×
  In this appeal from a judgment on written obligations to pay money, the Florida Supreme Court addressed whether the trial court properly invoked the Dead Man's Statute to prevent the defendant debtor from explaining the circumstances of three promissory notes totaling $26,000. Th
• Allstate Ins. Co. v. Doody
  193 So. 2d 687· Fla. 3d DCA· 1967-01-17 ·cited 20×
  Allstate Insurance Company appealed a jury verdict for the policyholder's widow and injured minor son on an insurance coverage dispute. The court reversed because the trial judge improperly excluded testimony from Allstate's agent and business records under the Dead Man's Statute
• Kilmer v. Gustason
  211 F.2d 781· 5th Cir.· 1954-03-31 ·cited 18×
  The court held that the plaintiff's testimony regarding his own actions and car's position was admissible, as it did not violate the 'dead man' statute, and that the jury charge adequately addressed the non-recoverability of loss of consortium under Iowa law.
• Addabelle Disbro v. Eldon L. Boyce C.T.A. of the Estate of Lulu Bell Reif
  124 So. 2d 756· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-11-28 ·cited 15×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal clarified that Florida's "dead man's statute" does not prevent heirs or survivors from testifying as adverse witnesses when called by the personal representative of a deceased person's estate. The court held that the statute's protective purpo
• Fendrick v. Nedine Faeges
  117 So. 2d 858· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-02-15 ·cited 15×
  The court held that issues of contributory negligence and proximate cause were questions of fact for the jury, and an excluded statement was inadmissible under statute.
• Farley v. Everett A. Collins ad litem of the Estate of Elonzo P. Dann, Jr.
  146 So. 2d 366· Fla.· 1962-07-13 ·cited 14×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that an automobile collision does not constitute a "transaction" within Florida's Dead Man's Statute, allowing a surviving driver to testify about the circumstances of an accident involving a deceased driver. The court adopted a narrow interpretatio
• Sessions v. Summers
  177 So. 2d 720· Fla. 1st DCA· 1965-07-20 ·cited 12×
  The executor of a deceased debtor's estate appealed a judgment against him on a $15,000 loan claim, arguing the trial court erred in admitting testimony violating Florida's Dead Man's Statute. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the executor waived the statute's protection
• Norton Josephson v. Kuhner
  139 So. 2d 440· Fla. 1st DCA· 1962-03-27 ·cited 12×
  In this probate appeal, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's validation of three joint bank account transfers made by an 81-year-old decedent in his final days while hospitalized and heavily medicated. The court held that the transfers lacked donative int
• Gladstone v. Kling
  182 So. 2d 471· Fla. 1st DCA· 1966-02-08 ·cited 10×
  The Gladsones appealed a foreclosure decree, challenging the trial court's exclusion of evidence regarding fraud in the mortgage procurement based on the Dead Man's Statute. The appellate court reversed, holding that the Dead Man's Statute did not apply because the surviving spou
• Jacobs v. Berrien Becks, Jr.
  355 So. 2d 1241· Fla. 1st DCA· 1978-03-03 ·cited 8×
  A plaintiff-payee establishes a prima facie case for recovery on a promissory note by introducing the authenticated instrument into evidence; no additional evidence of non-payment is required, and payment is an affirmative defense whose burden rests on the defendant.
• Howland v. Strahan
  219 So. 2d 472· Fla. 3d DCA· 1969-02-18 ·cited 7×
  The executor of a deceased woman's estate appealed a judgment ordering the return of only $19,730.64 of $40,000+ in inter vivos transfers made to a nursing home operator, arguing the entire amount should be recovered due to undue influence. The appellate court affirmed, finding s
• Seddon v. Edmondson
  411 So. 2d 995· Fla. 5th DCA· 1982-03-31 ·cited 6×
  Sarah Jane Seddon appealed a trial court judgment dismissing her cross-claim against the Edmondsons based on boundary by agreement and acquiescence defenses. The appellate court reversed, finding that the trial court erroneously admitted a letter from the deceased William T. Sedd
• Yates v. Yates
  272 F.2d 52· 5th Cir.· 1959-11-24 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the separation agreement created a vested equitable interest in the insurance proceeds for the mortgage debt, which could not be divested by a later change of beneficiary.
• Jensen v. Lance
  88 So. 2d 762· Fla.· 1956-07-11 ·cited 6×
  Mary Jensen appealed a circuit court's exclusion of testimony from her son, who was also a claimant against the same estate, on the ground that he was an "interested person" under Florida's dead-man statute. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the exclusion, holding that although
• TOM v. Messinger
  235 So. 2d 333· Fla. 2d DCA· 1970-05-13 ·cited 4×
  In this wrongful death case arising from a fatal car accident in North Carolina, the Florida appellate court affirmed jury verdicts against the executrix of Nylah T. Bell's estate, holding that testimony identifying who was driving the vehicle did not violate Florida's Dead Man's
• Barber v. Adams
  208 So. 2d 869· Fla. 2d DCA· 1968-04-05 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the trial court correctly excluded testimony under the Dead Man's Statute and that the appellee did not waive her objections.
• Everett A. Collins ad litem of the Estate of Elonzo P. Dann, Jr. v. Farley
  137 So. 2d 31· Fla. 3d DCA· 1962-02-01 ·cited 4×
  This case addresses whether the Dead Man's Statute bars testimony from an interested witness (a motorcycle driver) regarding the actions of a deceased driver in an automobile accident. The court held that an automobile collision constitutes a 'transaction' under Florida's Dead Ma
• Rutledge v. Rutledge
  357 So. 2d 466· Fla. 2d DCA· 1978-04-14 ·cited 2×
  A judgment carries a rebuttable presumption of being unsatisfied, and the plaintiff need not prove non-payment; the defendant must plead and prove payment as an affirmative defense.
• Harrell v. Fla. First Nat'l Bank OF Jacksonville
  354 So. 2d 420· Fla. 1st DCA· 1978-01-20 ·cited 2×
  Merely listing 'depositions' in a summary judgment motion without offering the deposition into evidence or referencing it in oral argument does not constitute 'use' of the deposition and therefore does not waive the Dead Man's Statute.
• Herbert Fern & the Miami Beach First Nat'l Bank v. Fern
  207 So. 2d 291· Fla. 3d DCA· 1968-02-20 ·cited 2×
  The estate executors appealed a decree invalidating an antenuptial agreement between their testator and his widow, arguing the trial court erred by admitting the widow's testimony about asset disclosure in violation of the Dead Man's Statute. The court affirmed, holding that suff
• Arthur E. Roberts ad Litem of Charles Schivley v. Hazel K. Bryant & the First State Bank & Tr. Co.
  201 So. 2d 811· Fla. 2d DCA· 1967-08-16 ·cited 2×
  Arthur Roberts, as guardian ad litem of Charles Schivley, an incompetent, appealed from a final decree dismissing his complaint against Hazel K. Bryant (Charles's daughter) and a bank, seeking to impose a constructive trust on Charles's assets allegedly transferred through undue
• Ginn v. Robert Weiss et ux.
  183 So. 2d 6· Fla. 1st DCA· 1966-02-15 ·cited 2×
  Appellants challenged a summary final decree foreclosing a mortgage allegedly executed by their decedent. The court affirmed the decree, holding that a recorded mortgage constitutes prima facie evidence of due execution under the Florida Constitution, which is sufficient to suppo
• Stewart v. Gore
  314 So. 2d 10· Fla. 2d DCA· 1975-06-11 ·cited 1×
  In this promissory note collection action, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment entered in favor of the estate representatives because they failed to affirmatively disprove or establish the legal insufficiency of the defendant's affirmative defenses re
• Ballou v. Jeannette H. Campbell & the First Nat'l Bank of Leesburg
  204 So. 2d 526· Fla. 2d DCA· 1967-11-29 ·cited 1×
  E. S. Ballou appealed the trial court's dismissal of his claim for specific performance of an alleged oral agreement with decedent John M. Campbell to bequeath stock in a corporation in exchange for Ballou taking over management. The appellate court affirmed the lower court's jud
• Harlow Land v. Hart
  109 So. 2d 589· Fla. 1st DCA· 1959-03-10
  The court held that cross-examining a witness after a timely objection to inadmissible testimony under the Dead Man's Statute has been overruled does not waive the benefit of the statute.
• Walker v. Beall
  12 Fla. Supp. 81· Santa Rosa Cty. Cir. Ct.· 1958-03-17
  A carrier is entitled to freight charges for a shipment, even if part of the cargo is lost due to an Act of God, when the shipper specifically requested the type of car that made the loss possible and the bill of lading limits carrier liability for such events.