BLACK, Judge.
Ana Jiminez appeals the judgment entered against her and in favor of George Faccone and the Estate of Rita Faccone
George and Rita Faccone sued Ms. Jiminez for personal injuries allegedly sustained in an automobile accident. On the night in question, George Faccone was driving a 1986 Cadillac on Highway 41 in Collier County and was stopped in the left lane of a light-controlled intersection when his car stalled. There were six people in the vehicle, three of whom exited the vehicle in a failed attempt to push it through the intersection. Mr. Faccone testified that when he exited the vehicle, he activated the emergency flashers.
Ms. Jiminez, driving a Nissan Sentra, approached the intersection in the same lane as the Faccone vehicle. It is undisputed that a van was travelling in the same lane, between her vehicle and the Faccone vehicle. Ms. Jiminez testified that both she and the van driver were travelling within the speed limit. She also stated that although it was dark and raining, she could see that the intersection light was green but could not see in front of the van. As the two vehicles approached the intersection, the van abruptly swerved into the right lane and Ms. Jiminez, unable to stop, collided with the rear of the Faccones' vehicle. According to Ms. Jiminez, the Faccones' vehicle was not illuminated by lights, flashers or otherwise.
At the time of impact, George Faccone was outside of the vehicle; Rita Faccone was inside the vehicle, seated in the backseat with her seatbelt unbuckled. Although outside of his vehicle, George Faccone was not struck by Ms. Jiminez's vehicle. His claimed injuries resulted from being pulled out of the way of the oncoming vehicle by his son. Rita Faccone claimed injuries to her neck and back.
Prior to trial, the Faccones moved for summary judgment, or alternatively, partial summary judgment as to the issue of liability for the accident. Specifically, the Faccones argued that because Ms. Jiminez struck the Faccones' vehicle from behind, she was negligent and was the "sole cause" of the accident. The trial court granted the motion. Also pretrial, the Faccones moved for summary judgment on the issue of whether Ms. Jiminez was entitled to the threshold defense under section 627.737, Florida Statutes (1997), requiring the Faccones to establish a threshold injury in order to recover noneconomic damages. The trial court, adopting the magistrate's findings and recommendation, granted the Faccones' motion, thereby preventing Ms. Jiminez from presenting the threshold defense at trial.
The case proceeded to trial, and the jury returned a verdict finding Ms. Jiminez eighty-five percent negligent for Rita Faccone's injuries and seventy percent negligent for George Faccone's injuries. The total damages awarded to the Estate of Rita Faccone were $82,935.18. The total damages awarded to George Faccone were $56,412.
Included in the awards were damages for each of the Faccones' loss of consortium claims. Interestingly, although the Faccones' counsel requested only $1 in consortium damages for each of the Faccones, the jury awarded George Faccone $45,000 and Rita Faccone's Estate $41,466.59. The award to the Estate was the exact amount awarded for past medical expenses. It appears that there may have been some jury confusion as to the nature of consortium damages. After deliberations had begun, the jury raised a question as to the proper measure of consortium damages. It was only at that point the court realized that the jury had not been previously instructed on the loss of consortium claims.
Following trial, the Faccones moved for attorneys' fees based upon proposals for settlement. The trial court granted the motions and rendered judgment on the fee claim.
Ms. Jiminez claims the trial court erred in granting both motions for summary judgment filed by the Faccones. Our standard of review is de novo,
In granting the motion for summary judgment as to liability, the trial court determined that there were no issues of material fact in dispute and that
Florida courts have consistently classified sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption in three ways: (1) "an abrupt and arbitrary stop in a place where it could not reasonably be expected or an unexpected" lane change; (2) "a mechanical failure, i.e., sudden brake failure, that causes the rear driver to collide with the lead driver"; and (3) an "illegally and, therefore, unexpectedly stopped" lead vehicle.
In this case, it was undisputed that it was both dark and raining at the time of the accident. It was also undisputed that the Faccones' car was in the left lane of traffic, that the traffic light was green, and that the van travelling in front of Ms. Jiminez abruptly changed lanes. The parties disagreed, however, as to whether the emergency flashers on the Faccones' vehicle were illuminated. Ms. Jiminez claimed that neither the headlights nor the emergency flashers were on; George Faccone claimed otherwise. Sufficient evidence "fairly and reasonably" tended to show that the Faccones' vehicle was illegally stopped in the roadway. At a minimum, there was conflicting testimony regarding whether the Faccones' vehicle was properly illuminated, material to the above. Thus, drawing every reasonable inference in favor of Ms. Jiminez, as we must, disputed issues of material fact existed which should have precluded entry of a summary judgment, and the negligence issue should have been submitted to the jury.
Ms. Jiminez also appeals the grant of summary judgment wherein the court found that Florida's permanent injury threshold defense was unavailable to Ms. Jiminez. Again, our standard of review is de novo.
At the time of the accident, Ms. Jiminez had been in Florida for two weeks, having recently taken a job in the state. As the magistrate correctly found, and the trial court adopted, there were no disputed issues of material fact. However, the magistrate and the trial court erred as a matter of law in finding that Ms. Jiminez's Illinois automobile insurance policy did not provide the coverage required by Florida's no-fault laws.
As part of her defense, Ms. Jiminez claimed that she was entitled to argue that the Faccones had not sustained the necessary threshold injuries for them to recover noneconomic damages "for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience" under section 627.737(2). Pursuant to section 627.737(2), a part of Florida's no-fault laws, a plaintiff may not recover noneconomic damages from an "owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a motor vehicle with respect to which security has been provided as required by ss. 627.730-627.7405" unless the claimed injury or disease is: "(a) Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function[;] (b) Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement[;] (c) Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement[;] [or] (d) Death."
Ms. Jiminez, as a statutory nonresident,
Section 627.733(1) provides that every vehicle required to be registered in the state must have security in the form of an insurance policy or other authorized method. Ms. Jiminez contends, as she did below, that her Illinois automobile insurance policy provided that security and complied with Florida's no-fault laws. We agree.
Ms. Jiminez's Illinois policy provided, in pertinent part:
The policy provision in question here is virtually identical to the policy provision discussed by the Fifth District in
Therefore, we conclude that Ms. Jiminez was subject to Florida's no-fault law and was required to, and did in fact, maintain no-fault insurance coverage through her Illinois policy. She was thus entitled to the permanent injury threshold defense, and the trial court erred as a matter of law in granting the Faccones' motion for summary judgment.
Because the trial court erred as to both summary judgment orders, requiring a new trial, the court's award of attorneys' fees based upon proposals for settlement, as well as the award of prevailing party costs, must also be reversed.
Finally, we note the peculiarity of the disproportionate consortium awards. Despite the Faccones' counsel asking for only one dollar for each his clients, the jury awarded $45,000 to George Faccone and $41,466.59 to the Estate of Rita Faccone. It appears that because the instructions on this element of damages were given separately and after deliberations had begun, the jury may have been misled. On remand, the parties and the trial court are reminded that appropriate instructions on the consortium claims should be read to the jury along with the other instructions.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
KELLY and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED.