PARIENTE, J.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned a multimillion dollar noneconomic damages award to an adult child whose mother died of lung cancer after the jury found through special interrogatories that the decedent's addiction to cigarettes was a legal cause of her death. See R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Odom, 210 So.3d 696, 698 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). The conflict issue before us arises from the Fourth District's misapplication of the abuse of discretion standard to the trial court's denial of a motion for remittitur and creation of a bright-line cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a financially independent adult surviving child may be awarded for the wrongful death of his or her parent.
For the reasons that follow, we hold that the Fourth District misapplied the abuse of discretion standard when reviewing the trial court's denial of the motion for remittitur. When the abuse of discretion standard is properly applied, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion by scrupulously following the standard for determining whether a remittitur is appropriate. We further hold that the Fourth District erred in creating a cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a financially independent adult child may be awarded for the wrongful death of his or her parent in conflict with this Court's precedent. Neither the Legislature nor this Court has established a cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a survivor may recover in a wrongful death action, and we decline to do so today. Accordingly, we quash the Fourth District's decision and remand for reinstatement of the judgment.
Petitioner Gwendolyn Odom brought this Engle
The uncontroverted evidence presented at trial established "a very close and
Throughout Odom's life, Thurston was a constant support to her. After leaving home and moving to South Carolina for college, Odom returned home several months later and moved back in with Thurston. Even after marrying her first husband, Odom continued to live with Thurston for a time. And when Odom's first marriage began to deteriorate, while she was pregnant with her first son, Odom moved back in with Thurston. Odom explained what Thurston's support during this time meant to her:
Even after Odom got remarried and Odom and Thurston no longer lived together, they continued to spend a lot of time together.
In addition to providing unconditional support to Odom, Thurston was very involved with Odom's children. Thurston was present at the birth of Odom's firstborn son, Ahmad. Thurston was always there for Ahmad's football and baseball games, even traveling to different cities to watch him play. She was his biggest fan. Odom described Thurston's relationship with Ahmad as "extremely close." Thurston considered Ahmad to be her son.
Just as Thurston was there to support Odom and Odom's children, Odom was there to support Thurston. Odom was there for Thurston each time Thurston attempted to quit smoking. Odom was also there when Thurston was diagnosed with lung cancer, and supported Thurston through every step of her treatment.
Odom was also there when Thurston's cancer returned. Although Odom felt as if she had been "punched in [the] stomach" and "hit over the head with a hammer all at one time," she remained strong for Thurston. Odom explained the pain she experienced as she witnessed Thurston's body transform from chemotherapy:
As she had always been, Odom was there when Thurston was admitted to the hospital for the last time. As part of her typical routine, Odom went to Thurston's house and knocked on the door. After Thurston did not answer, Odom called several times. Finally, Thurston made it to the door. It became clear to Odom that Thurston was having a stroke. Odom called 911 and Thurston was taken to the hospital.
Odom described how she felt while Thurston spent her last days in the hospital:
Odom further explained how she felt after her mother passed away:
Odom described an instance when she picked up the phone to call Thurston only to remember that Thurston was not there.
During closing arguments, Odom requested that the jury award Odom $5 million in noneconomic damages. R.J. Reynolds, on the other hand, did not suggest a number to the jury. Instead, R.J. Reynolds told the jury: "[W]e simply leave it to your good judgment and common sense as to whether Ms. Odom should be made a very wealthy person at this stage of her life.... We leave that question to you." On the issue of comparative negligence, R.J. Reynolds argued that the jury should find Thurston 100% at fault for her death, while Odom argued that the jury should allocate "no more than 25%" fault to Thurston. The jury awarded $6 million to Odom, which was later reduced to $4.5 million in accordance with the jury's finding that Thurston was 25% at fault. See Odom, 210 So.3d at 698.
R.J. Reynolds moved for a new trial or remittitur, arguing that the jury's verdict was grossly excessive and "could only have been the result of passion and prejudice." R.J. Reynolds requested that the trial court vacate the judgment and order a new trial, "or at a minimum substantially reduce the [noneconomic] damages award to the $400,000 to $500,000 range."
After a hearing, the trial court denied R.J. Reynolds' motion. In doing so, the trial court first considered this Court's relevant precedent and the factors set forth in the remittitur statute. The trial court then observed that R.J. Reynolds' argument in favor of a remittitur was based largely upon R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Webb, 93 So.3d 331 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012), and Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Putney, 199 So.3d 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), "which overturned jury verdicts for surviving adult children in the amounts of $8 million and $5 million, respectively."
Thus, the trial court concluded:
Accordingly, the trial court denied the motion for remittitur and entered final judgment for Odom. See Odom, 210 So.3d at 698-99.
R.J. Reynolds appealed, and the Fourth District reversed, reasoning that "[w]hen it comes to wrongful death awards, including those in the Engle context, courts have drawn a distinction between compensatory damages awarded to surviving spouses and to adult children." Id. at 699. The Fourth District explained that Putney and Webb "establish that no matter how strong the emotional bond between an adult child and a decedent parent may be, an adult child who lives independent of the parent during the parent's smoking related illness and death is not entitled to multi-million dollar compensatory damages award." Id. at 701. The Fourth District further explained that "[c]ases from outside the tobacco arena support this conclusion." Id.
Thus, although the evidence established that Odom and her mother "had a very close and unique relationship" and Odom "took her mother to many of her appointments and was devastated by her decline and subsequent death," the Fourth District concluded that "the relationship between an adult child living independent of their parent is simply not the type of
Odom petitioned to this Court and we granted review.
The conflict issue in this case arises from the Fourth District's misapplication of the abuse of discretion standard to the trial court's denial of a motion for remittitur and creation of a bright-line cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a financially independent adult surviving child may be awarded for the wrongful death of his or her parent. It is well-established that a trial court's ruling on a motion for remittitur is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Lassitter v. Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs, 349 So.2d 622, 627 (Fla. 1976); see also Engle v. Liggett Grp., Inc., 945 So.2d 1246, 1263 (Fla. 2006). This Court has explained the abuse of discretion standards as follows:
Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197, 1203 (Fla. 1980).
Our analysis begins by setting forth the relevant legal background. With the legal background set, we address the conflict issue presented in this case. Finally, we turn to properly review the trial court's denial of R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur for an abuse of discretion.
Under Florida's wrongful death statute, "[m]inor children of the decedent, and all children of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse, may ... recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance and for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury." § 768.21(3), Fla. Stat. (2014). Thus, an adult child twenty-five years or older has a right to claim noneconomic damages under the wrongful death statute only if there is no surviving spouse. See id. § 768.18(2) (defining minor child as a child "under 25 years of age").
The Legislature's stated purpose with the wrongful death statute is "to shift the losses resulting when wrongful death occurs from the survivors of the decedent to the wrongdoer." Id. § 768.17. Prior to 1990, the wrongful death statute "only permitted minor children to recover pain and suffering damages due to the death of a parent." Mizrahi v. N. Miami Med. Ctr., Ltd., 712 So.2d 826, 828 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), approved, 761 So.2d 1040 (Fla. 2000).
In tandem with the right to recover noneconomic damages, in every case for money damages the trial court has a separate obligation to determine if the damages award is "excessive or inadequate in light of the facts and circumstances which were presented to the trier of fact." Id. § 768.74(1). The remittitur statute explains that although "the reasonable actions of a jury are a fundamental precept of American jurisprudence and ... such actions should be disturbed or modified with caution and discretion," requiring courts to review the damages awarded by juries "provides an additional element of soundness and logic to our judicial system and is in the best interests of the citizens of this state." Id. § 768.74(6). Thus, when a court "finds that the amount awarded is excessive... it shall order a remittitur." Id. § 768.74(2).
The remittitur statute provides a list of factors for courts to consider when determining whether an award is excessive or inadequate:
Id. § 768.74(5).
In addition to the factors set forth in the remittitur statute, this Court has observed that reviewing "amounts awarded in similar cases has at least a limited value" in determining whether an award is excessive. Loftin v. Wilson, 67 So.2d 185, 189 (Fla. 1953). This observation came with a caution, however, that comparisons are "sometimes fraught with danger because, of course, each case is different and must of necessity be measured in the light of the circumstances peculiar to it." Id.; see also Laskey v. Smith, 239 So.2d 13, 14 (Fla. 1970) ("In its movement toward constancy of principle, the law must permit a reasonable latitude for inconstancy of result in the performance of juries.").
Notwithstanding the factors set forth in the remittitur statute and any guidance that can be gleaned from reviewing similar cases, this Court has recognized that measuring noneconomic damages is inherently difficult as "there is no objective standard by which to measure" them. Angrand v. Key, 657 So.2d 1146, 1149 (Fla. 1995). "Technical or mathematical calculations are impossible to make." Id. Because of the inherent difficulty in measuring these kinds of damages, this Court has determined that "[t]he jury, guided by its judgment and everyday life experiences, is in the best position to make a fair assessment of these damages." Id. As we have explained:
Braddock v. Seaboard Air Line R.R. Co., 80 So.2d 662, 668 (Fla. 1955).
In addition, the standard jury instructions, which were given in this case, explain to the jury that "there is no exact standard for fixing the compensation" of a noneconomic damages award. Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Civ.) 502.2. The jury is further cautioned not to allow sympathy or prejudice influence their decision. Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Civ.) 700.
Because assessing the amount of damages is within the province of the jury, this Court has made clear that when reviewing a motion for remittitur, a court "should never declare a verdict excessive merely because it is above the amount which the court itself considers the jury should have allowed." Bould v. Touchette, 349 So.2d 1181, 1184 (Fla. 1977). And when a trial judge refuses to grant a remittitur, "[t]he correctness of the jury's verdict is strengthened." Lassitter, 349 So.2d at 627. As this Court explained in Lassitter:
Id. (emphasis added). Stated another way, an appellate court should only hold an award excessive if it "shock[s] the judicial conscience." Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co. v. McKelvey, 270 So.2d 705, 706 (Fla. 1972). In order to shock the judicial conscience, "the verdict must be so excessive or so inadequate so as at least to imply an inference that the verdict evinces or carries an implication of passion or prejudice, corruption, partiality, improper influences, or the like." Lassitter, 349 So.2d at 627.
We have not yet addressed whether a noneconomic damages award in an Engle progeny case was so excessive that it shocked the judicial conscience and thus necessitated a remittitur. However, we recently held that a punitive damages award of $30 million in an Engle progeny case did not shock the conscience merely because it was more than what the plaintiff requested. See, e.g., Schoeff v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 232 So.3d 294, 308 (Fla. 2017).
In Schoeff, the plaintiff "asked the jury not to exceed $25 million in punitive damages." Id. Because the jury awarded $30 million, the Fourth District concluded that the award could not have been "adduced in a logical manner by reasonable persons." Id. (quoting § 768.74(5)(e), Fla. Stat. (2012)). This Court rejected that conclusion, explaining that "this single factor is insufficient to render an award excessive. The fact that the jury exceeded requested
Having set forth the relevant legal background, we now turn to explain how the Fourth District misapplied the well-established abuse of discretion standard when reviewing the trial court's denial of R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur.
First, it is clear that the Fourth District misapplied the abuse of discretion standard, as it paid no deference to the trial court, which "had the opportunity to observe the witnesses and to consider the evidence in the context of a living trial rather than upon a cold record." Lassitter, 349 So.2d at 627. In fact, the Fourth District's decision fails to discuss or otherwise mention the trial court's well-reasoned order denying R.J. Reynolds' motion. Determining that the trial court abused its discretion without first determining that the trial court's decision was unreasonable is not consistent with the abuse of discretion standard. See Canakaris, 382 So.2d at 1203 (explaining that the abuse of discretion standard is a test of reasonableness).
Second, in addition to the lack of deference to the decision of the trial court, the Fourth District failed to consider any of the factors set forth in the remittitur statute. See § 768.74(5)(a)-(e), Fla. Stat. (2014). While the Fourth District's opinion recites the factors, it does not identify the presence of any of the factors in this case, including that the jury's award was indicative of passion. Id. As this Court has explained, an award is only excessive if it "evinces or carries an implication of passion or prejudice, corruption, partiality, improper influences, or the like." Lassitter, 349 So.2d at 627. Not only did the Fourth District not identify the presence of passion in the jury's verdict, but it failed to acknowledge that the trial court, after careful consideration of the factors in the remittitur statute, explicitly concluded that the jury's award was not indicative of "passion, prejudice, corruption or other improper motive." Bould, 349 So.2d at 1184.
Third, and significantly, the Fourth District misapplied the abuse of discretion standard when it concluded that the jury's verdict in this case was excessive based on four district court of appeal decisions, two of which the trial court expressly found to be distinguishable. See Odom, 210 So.3d at 701. Although we have stated that reviewing awards in similar cases can be helpful in determining whether a particular award is excessive, we also stated, in the very same case, that "each case is different and must of necessity be measured in the light of the circumstances peculiar to it." Loftin, 67 So.2d at 189. Here, consistent with our precedent, the trial court appropriately considered the cases cited by R.J. Reynolds, Webb and Putney, when reviewing whether the jury's verdict was excessive. After careful consideration, the trial court determined that the facts of this case "were simply different."
In reversing the trial court, the Fourth District did not conclude that this determination by the trial court was unreasonable. Rather, instead of assessing the reasonableness of the trial court's determination, as required by the abuse of discretion standard, the Fourth District concluded that two other district court of appeal cases "establish that no matter" what the evidence showed, the jury's multimillion dollar verdict in this case was excessive because it was in favor of a financially independent adult child. Odom, 210 So.3d at 701. The Fourth District's total reliance on district court of appeal cases to the exclusion of this Court's precedent, as well as the particular circumstances of the case before it, is simply not the kind of deferential
For the reasons stated, we conclude that the Fourth District erred by misapplying the abuse of discretion standard when reviewing the trial court's denial of R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur. We now turn to address the Fourth District's cap on damages.
In addition to misapplying the abuse of discretion standard, the Fourth District created a cap on the amount of noneconomic damages a financially independent adult child may be awarded for the wrongful death of his or her parent when it concluded that, regardless of the evidence, "the relationship between an adult child living independent of their parent is simply not the type of relationship" that can justify a multimillion noneconomic damages award. Id. Because the Fourth District's cap on damages does not find support in either Florida Statutes or this Court's precedent, we conclude that this was error.
In creating this cap on damages, the Fourth District relied on Webb and Putney, which it concluded "establish that no matter how strong the emotional bond between an adult child and a decedent parent may be, an adult child who lives independent of the parent during the parent's smoking related illness and death is not entitled to multi-million dollar compensatory damages award." Id. However, neither Webb nor Putney actually support the Fourth District's creation of a cap. In Webb, although the First District reviewed awards in similar cases, it ultimately determined that the verdict in that case was the product of passion. 93 So.3d at 338-39. Likewise, in Putney, the Fourth District concluded that the award was excessive because "there was not evidence of the type of close or supportive relationship that would justify such an award." 199 So.3d at 471. We do not read either of these cases as creating or suggesting a bright-line cap on noneconomic damages for financially independent adult children.
Even if we were to conclude that Webb and Putney support the Fourth District's creation of a cap, neither the Legislature nor this Court has limited or established a bright-line cap on the amount a survivor may be awarded in noneconomic damages under the wrongful death statute. To the contrary, the Legislature has expressly permitted all adult children of a decedent to recover noneconomic damages for the decedent's wrongful death "if there is no surviving spouse." § 768.21(3), Fla. Stat. (2014). In doing so, the Legislature did not impose a cap on the amount an adult child may recover, nor did it include a requirement that the child be financially dependent on the decedent at the time of the decedent's death. See id.
Thus, the sole requirement for an adult child to recover noneconomic damages for the wrongful death of his or her parent is that the parent must not be survived by a spouse. Additionally, while the Legislature has bestowed upon courts the responsibility of reviewing awards for money damages and remitting awards that are excessive, notably absent from the list of factors in the remittitur statute for courts to consider when determining whether an award is excessive is the "type of relationship" between the decedent and survivor. Odom, 210 So.3d at 701; see § 768.74(2), Fla. Stat. (2014).
This Court also has not capped the amount that may be awarded, and we decline to impose such a cap today. Instead, we reaffirm that a verdict should only be held excessive, and thus remitted, where it "evinces or carries an implication of passion or prejudice, corruption, partiality,
Having concluded that the Fourth District misapplied the abuse of discretion standard and erroneously capped the amount of damages a financially independent adult child may be awarded for the wrongful death of his or her parent, we now turn to properly apply the abuse of discretion standard to the trial court's denial of R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur in this case.
In this case, the jury was presented with extensive and undisputed evidence of the "very close and unique relationship" that Odom and Thurston shared and the effect Thurston's years-long suffering and eventual death had on Odom. Odom, 210 So.3d at 701. This evidence established that there was not only a loss of parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, but also mental pain and suffering from the date Thurston was originally diagnosed until her death approximately three years later, during which time Odom supported Thurston every step of the way. The jury also heard evidence that, at age fifty-eight, Thurston had a life expectancy of an additional 24.5 years.
While Odom advocated for an award of $5 million, R.J. Reynolds chose not to suggest a specific amount or even a range to the jury. Instead, R.J. Reynolds left the question of how much to award to the "good judgment and common sense" of the jury, asking only whether they wanted to make Odom a "very wealthy person at this stage of her life." Only after the jury returned its verdict did R.J. Reynolds argue that an award in "the $400,000 to $500,000 range" was appropriate. It is difficult for a party to challenge an award as excessive after the fact when that party declined to offer any guidance to the jury at trial. See Hawk v. Seaboard Sys. R.R., Inc., 547 So.2d 669, 674 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (Altenbernd, J., concurring) ("When the defendant does not assist the jury in establishing a range for a verdict, it is more difficult for the defendant to later suggest that a verdict below the plaintiffs' request is somehow a verdict which exceeds the maximum limit of the reasonable range in which the jury was free to operate.").
When ruling on R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur, the trial court properly identified the standard for determining if an award is excessive and considered the factors set forth in the remittitur statute. Noting that R.J. Reynolds' argument was based on Webb and Putney, the trial court carefully compared the facts of those cases with this case and determined that they were "simply different." In making this determination, the trial court detailed the undisputed evidence of Odom and Thurston's relationship and how Thurston's cancer and death affected Odom. Concluding that its conscience was "not shocked by the jury's compensatory damage verdict and [R.J. Reynolds] ha[d] identified nothing in the record to suggest that the verdict was the product of passion and prejudice," the trial court denied the remittitur. We conclude that the trial court did not
Further, we reject the Fourth District's conclusion that the relationship between Odom, a financially independent adult child, and her deceased mother is "not the type of relationship" that can justify a multimillion dollar noneconomic damages award. Odom, 210 So.3d at 701. This Court's precedent clearly allows for a multimillion dollar noneconomic damages award where, as here, the award is supported by the evidence, and is not indicative of passion or prejudice.
Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying R.J. Reynolds' motion for remittitur, we quash the decision of the Fourth District and remand with instructions to reinstate the final judgment. We also disapprove Webb and Putney to the extent they are inconsistent with this opinion. Finally, we award Odom attorney's fees for the appeal of this case in an amount to be determined by the trial court because the judgment in this case far exceeds the proposal for settlement filed by Odom, pursuant to section 768.79(1), Florida Statutes (2014), in the amount of $100,000.
It is so ordered.
LEWIS, QUINCE, LABARGA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
POLSTON, J., dissents with an opinion, in which CANADY, C.J., concurs.
POLSTON, J., dissenting.
Because the Fourth District's decision in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Odom, 210 So.3d 696 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), does not expressly and directly conflict with any of the decisions cited by Odom in her petition for jurisdiction, this Court does not have the constitutional authority to overturn the Fourth District's decision. The majority improperly asserts conflict jurisdiction based on a "misapplication of the abuse of discretion standard." This case was decided on its own set of facts not present in the other decisions. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
First, Odom does not conflict with Lassitter v. International Union of Operating Engineers, 349 So.2d 622 (Fla. 1976). Lassitter brought an action against a fellow union member, the local union, and international unions for "injuries sustained in union violence" and was awarded $240,000 in compensatory damages and cumulatively upwards of $1 million in punitive damages. Id. at 623. In Lassitter, this Court held that Florida courts are not to require punitive damages to bear some reasonable relationship to compensatory or actual damages. Id. at 626. Nothing in the Fourth District's decision in Odom conflicts with this Court's holding in Lassitter that punitive damages need not bear some reasonable relationship to compensatory or actual damages.
However, in Lassitter, this Court also explained that an appellate court may review a trial court's ruling in denying a motion for a new trial or remittitur only for an abuse of discretion. Id. at 627. This Court in Lassitter stated that "[t]he appellate court should not disturb a verdict as excessive, where the trial court refused to disturb the amount, unless the verdict is so inordinately large as obviously to exceed the maximum limit of a reasonable range
Second, Odom, does not conflict with Braddock v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co., 80 So.2d 662 (Fla. 1955). In Braddock, 80 So.2d at 663-64, a minor child and his father brought personal injury claims against a railroad after the eight-year-old was struck by a locomotive and lost his left leg. This Court held that an award for future pain and suffering should not be reduced to present value. Id. at 668. This Court in Braddock, 80 So.2d at 668, explained that jurors use their "enlightened conscience" when determining damages for pain and suffering, not mathematical calculations. However, the Fourth District in Odom, 210 So.3d at 701, did not examine whether the compensatory damages should be reduced to the present value, only whether the trial court abused its discretion in its ruling regarding whether the compensatory damages at issue exceeded a reasonable range. Therefore, the two cases do not conflict. The lack of conflict is particularly glaring given this Court's express statement in Braddock, 80 So.2d at 668, that "the question of the excessiveness of the verdicts is neither decided nor precluded by this appeal."
Third, Odom does not conflict with Bould v. Touchette, 349 So.2d 1181 (Fla. 1977). Bould involved an elderly woman who brought a wrongful death action after the deaths of her daughter and son-in-law in a car accident. Id. at 1183-84. This Court applied the Lassitter test and concluded that a jury award of $100,000 for compensatory damages "was not so inordinately large as obviously to exceed the maximum limit of a reasonable range within which the jury may properly operate." Id. at 1186. In addition to the difference between the amounts of the compensatory damages involved in the two cases, Bould is factually distinct from Odom in that Bould was an unemployed, elderly woman who had been supported by her daughter and son-in-law for over 30 years at the time of their deaths. Id. at 1185. This Court explained that, "[a]s a result of the death[s], Bould was forced to move into a nursing home in Buffalo, New York, and at the time of trial had lost three years of support." Id. In contrast, Odom was an independent adult child with a family of her own. Odom, 210 So.3d at 701. Therefore, because Bould was dependent upon the decedents and Odom was not financially dependent upon her deceased mother, the cases are factually distinct and do not conflict.
Lastly, the majority claims that this Court has conflict jurisdiction because of the Fourth District's "creation of a bright-line cap on the amount of noneconomic
Odom, 210 So.3d at 701.
Accordingly, because Odom does not expressly and directly conflict on the same question of law with any of the decisions cited by the Petitioner, this Court does not have jurisdiction to review this case. I respectfully dissent.
CANADY, C.J., concurs.
In lieu of this Court's precedent, the Fourth District relied on the following district court of appeal cases to reach its decision in this case: Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Putney, 199 So.3d 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016); R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Webb, 93 So.3d 331 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012); MBL Life Assurance Corp. v. Suarez, 768 So.2d 1129 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000); Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Ahmed, 653 So.2d 1055 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).