Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

What is a directed verdict in a Florida family law case? This is when the court declines to allow a party to present evidence and testimony about his or her case, and instead rules based on what has been presented by way of evidence from one side and perhaps argument from both sides. When is it proper for a court to grant a directed verdict? This was an issue in the case Olguin v. Torrecilla, 2D20-3509 (Fla. 2d DCA May 25, 2022).

As part of the parties’ divorce case, the former husband sued the former wife’s father, alleging that the father was holding property owned by the former spouses in a constructive trust. Before the former husband finished presenting his case, the father’s lawyer moved for a directed verdict, which the trial court treated as a motion for summary judgment. The court, after hearing argument from the lawyers, granted the motion for summary judgment and effectively dismissed the suit against the father. The former husband appealed.

The appellate court noted that a motion for summary judgment was inappropriate during trial because this type of motion is pretrial in nature. The court stated “Although the trial court stated that it was granting a directed verdict, see Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.480, the equivalent in a bench trial is an involuntary dismissal, see Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(b); Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.420(b).” The court held “Further, even if a plaintiff is permitted to proffer evidence, it is error to order an involuntary dismissal before the plaintiff presents his case-in-chief. [internal citations omitted]. Thus, even though the trial court asked the Former Husband's counsel what the Former Husband's testimony would be, the trial court erred in granting what was in effect an involuntary dismissal before the Former Husband had completed the presentation of his case-in-chief. Therefore, we reverse the order granting a directed verdict on the Former Husband's claim for a resulting trust and remand for the trial court to take evidence on count two.”

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