Summary
In Searock, Inc. v. Babcock, 667 So.2d 853 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996), the plaintiff, Babcock, and the defendant, Searock, at the conclusion of the plaintiff's case-in-chief, both, as here, filed motions for directed verdict.
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No. 95-1089.
January 17, 1996. Rehearing Denied February 28, 1996.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Arthur Rothenberg, Judge.
Arnstein Lehr, and Peter M. Feaman, and Leslie W. Loftus, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Hall Hedrick, and M. Lewis Hall, III, Miami, for appellee.
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and JORGENSON and GERSTEN, JJ.
Appellant, Searock Inc., d/b/a Allied Marine appeals an adverse final judgment on directed verdict in favor of appellee, Edward Vose Babcock. We reverse.
Babcock brought suit against Searock for breach of an escrow agreement in connection with a failed purchase/sale transaction. At the conclusion of Babcock's case-in-chief, both parties filed motions for directed verdict. The trial court granted plaintiff Babcock's motion.
Simply, the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict for Babcock and in depriving Searock of the ability to present its case. Precedent fails to support the granting of a directed verdict before the defendant has had an opportunity to present its case. To the contrary, Florida jurisprudence clearly mandates that "a party may not obtain a directed verdict prior to the time that the party moved against has completed his case-in-chief, since to do so would constitute a denial of due process of law." Zerillo v. Snapper Power Equipment, 562 So.2d 819, 820 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), rev. denied, 562 So.2d 291 (Fla. 1991); see Sheldon Greene and Assocs., Inc. v. Williams Island Assocs., 550 So.2d 1142 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), rev. denied, 557 So.2d 35 (Fla. 1990); Pelle v. Diners Club, 287 So.2d 737 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974).
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.