Opinion
No. 77-2492.
November 14, 1978.
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, George Orr, J.
Schwartz, Klein Steinhardt, North Miami Beach, for appellant.
Bradford, Williams, McKay, Kimbrell, Hamann Jennings and Richard T. Woulfe, Miami, for appellee.
Before PEARSON, BARKDULL and KEHOE, JJ.
Appellant, plaintiff in the trial court, appeals a final judgment entered after an order setting aside a jury verdict and directing a verdict in appellee's favor. In the alternative, the trial court granted a new trial because of the giving of an erroneous instruction in the event he was in error in directing a verdict.
We reverse the order granting the directed verdict, because there was evidence or a reasonable inference therefrom, viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, to sustain a plaintiff's jury verdict. See: Brookbank v. Mathieu, 152 So.2d 526 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963); Whitman v. Red Top Sedan Service, Inc., 218 So.2d 213 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969); Mathis v. Lambert, 274 So.2d 601 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973).
We do agree that the trial judge was correct in granting a new trial because of the giving of an erroneous instruction. See: Dade Underwriters Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Azif, 202 So.2d 809 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967); Shank v. Fassoulas, 304 So.2d 469 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974); Castlewood International Corporation v. LaFleur, 322 So.2d 520 (Fla. 1976); Florida Rules Civil Procedure 1.530(d).
Therefore, the final judgment for the defendant in the trial court is reversed, and the cause is remanded for a new trial on all the issues.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part, with directions.