Although there appear to be no cases directly on point dealing specifically with additur, there are a few similar cases dealing with remittitur. In St. Pierre v. Public Gas Company, 423 So.2d 949 (Fla.3d DCA 1982), plaintiff and his deceased wife were found twenty percent negligent in an accident involving their stove which had been serviced by appellee. The jury awarded damages of approximately $300,000 and the trial judge entered judgment for that amount less twenty percent.

BARKETT, Justice. We have for review Rowlands v. Signal Construction Co., 522 So.2d 59 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), based on express and direct conflict with Keith v. Russell T. Bundy Associates, Inc., 495 So.2d 1223 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Cooper Transportation, Inc. v. Mincey, 459 So.2d 339 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), review denied, 472 So.2d 1181 (Fla. 1985); and St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). We have jurisdiction.

Id. 171 W. Va. at 86-87, 297 S.E.2d at 861; Duncan v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 665 S.W.2d 414, 427 (Tex. 1984).See also State v. Kaatz, 572 P.2d 775, 784-85 (Alaska 1977); Johnson v. Cross, 281 Ark. 146, 148, 661 S.W.2d 386, 387 (1983); St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949, 951 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1982); Lyman v. Bourque, 374 A.2d 588, 590 (Me. 1977); Sandhofer v. Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, 283 N.W.2d 362, 368 (Minn. 1979); Speedway Transportation, Inc. v. DeTurk, 183 Neb. 629, 632, 163 N.W.2d 283, 285 (1968); Bellacome v. Bailey, 121 N.H. 23, 27, 426 A.2d 451, 453 (1981); Marcus v. Cortese, 98 N.M. 414, 416, 649 P.2d 482, 484 (Ct.App. 1982); Weber v. City of New York, 101 A.D.2d 757, 757, 475 N.Y.S.2d 401, 402, aff'd mem. as unreviewable, 63 N.Y.2d 886, 472 N.E.2d 1028, 483 N.Y.S.2d 200 (1984); Lamkin v. Lynch, 600 P.2d 530, 531 (Utah 1979); Shea v. Peter Glenn Shops, Inc., 132 Vt. 317, 319, 318 A.2d 177, 178 (1974); Haynes v. Moore, 14 Wn. App. 668, 673-74, 545 P.2d 28, 32 (1975); Connett v. Fremont County School District No. 6, 581 P.2d 1097, 1100 (Wyo. 1978). In the present case reasonable minds could differ as to the apportionment of negligence between the appellant and the codefendant, Dr. Anderson. The jury's apportionment, 55% to the appellant and 45% to Dr. Anderson, was

AFFIRMED. See Simpson v. Simpson, 232 So.2d 249, 250 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970) (noting when the evidence shows that there was an invisible substance (within a pool of water) which caused a party to slip and fall, negligence (including comparative negligence) becomes a question for the jury); Stock v. Gross, 186 So.2d 827, 829 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966) (noting where the condition created by the defendant constituted a hidden trap (within an obviously dangerous condition such as a wet walkway), the facts presented a classic case for a jury decision as to plaintiff's contributory negligence); see also St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949, 951 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) ("The question of apportioning the negligence between the plaintiff and the defendant is . . . peculiarly within the province of the jury. . . ."). THOMPSON, SAWAYA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.

In that case, this court evaluated the evidence and determined that a finding by the trial court that the plaintiff could have been found 50% negligent, but not 70%, was arbitrary. See also St. Pierre v. Pub. Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). In Rowlands v. Signal Const. Co., 549 So.2d 1380 (Fla. 1989), the supreme court recognized that a remittitur is not the proper remedy where a jury's allocation of comparative negligence is not supported by the evidence.

The trial court purported to base its order also on the jury finding that twenty per cent comparative negligence was too low. It is clear, however, that a remittitur order may not properly be utilized to adjust the percentage of contributory negligence to reach a result consistent with the trial judge's view of the case. Cooper Transp., Inc. v. Mincey, 459 So.2d 339 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), pet. for review denied, 472 So.2d 1181 (Fla. 1985); St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). In addition and in any event, the twenty per cent jury figure was entirely consistent with the evidence so that there was no reasonable basis for the trial court's interference with the determination on this issue as well.

The question of apportioning negligence between the plaintiff and defendant is peculiarly within the province of the jury. Tyus v. Apalachicola Northern Railroad, 130 So.2d 580 (Fla. 1961) (conflicting testimony on question of defendant's negligence, particularly where comparative negligence rule applies, is absolutely within province of jury); St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) (question of apportioning negligence between plaintiff and defendant is one that is particularly within province of jury). Plaintiff San Pedro brought this action against South Florida Beverage Corporation and its employee, Fernandez, alleging that Fernandez, while acting within the scope of his employment with South Florida Beverage, negligently pushed a pallet full of Pepsi-Cola bottles into his left foot, causing injuries.

A trial judge may not use the device of a new trial order conditioned on a remittitur to increase a jury's determination of the plaintiff's contributing negligence. Cooper Transportation, Inc. v. Mincey, 459 So.2d 339 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), review denied, 472 So.2d 1181 (Fla. 1985); St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). A remittitur of part of the amount recovered cannot cure a verdict which is contrary to the law or not sustained by the evidence as to any issue other than the measure of damages. Marson v. Dadeland Rent-A-Car, Inc., 408 So.2d 245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).

It is well settled that federal decisions are most helpful in considering questions under equivalent, or, as here, identical Florida law. See St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla.3d DCA 1982); Frantz v. Golebiewski, 407 So.2d 283 (Fla.3d DCA 1981). In City of Detroit v. Grinnell Corp., 495 F.2d 448 (2 Cir. 1974), this court adopted the Lindy I approach; the court made clear that it also was dealing only with cases where an attorney had conferred a benefit upon a class of plaintiffs with whom he had no direct relationship and was seeking fees in his own right.

While the resolution of this issue seems clear to us, our research reveals that only the Third District Court of Appeal has directly and concisely addressed the issue. In the cases of St. Pierre v. Public Gas Co., 423 So.2d 949 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), Gould v. National Bank of Florida, 421 So.2d 798 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) and Parks v. Ralston Construction Co., 338 So.2d 65 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), it has clearly been held that when a remittitur is ordered, the alternative to the remittitur should be a new trial on the issue of damages alone. The clearest statement comes in the Gould case where Judge Ferguson points out that the function of a remittitur is to correct an improper verdict as to damages, and where the error is only that the damages awarded are excessive, it is not proper to retry the issue of liability. 421 So.2d at 802.