CLIFFORD JASON GREGORY v. KEY WEST WELDING AND FABRICATION, INC.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 21, 2020
Docket3D18-2419
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed October 21, 2020.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D18-2419
Lower Tribunal No. 06-390-K
________________
Clifford Jason Gregory,
Appellant,
vs.
Key West Welding and Fabrications, Inc., et al.,
Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Timothy J. Koenig,
Judge.
Hugh Morgan; W. Sam Holland; Wasson & Associates, Chartered, and Roy
D. Wasson, for appellant.
Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, and Carol M. Rooney (Tampa), for
appellees.
Before EMAS, C.J., and HENDON and GORDO, JJ.
EMAS, C.J.
Clifford Jason Gregory appeals final judgment entered by the trial court
following a trial, asserting the court made several errors which require a new trial.
Upon review, and with one exception described below, we affirm the final judgment.
First, we find no error in the trial court’s exclusion of the insurance adjuster’s
report, as it was protected work product and Gregory failed to establish an applicable
exception to the prohibition against the use of such materials at trial. See Fla. R.
Civ. P. 1.280(b)(4); Int’l House of Pancakes (IHOP) v. Robinson, 124 So. 3d 1004
(Fla. 4th DCA 2013). In addition, we agree with the trial court’s determination that
there was no waiver of the work product privilege in this case. See Abamar Hous.
& Dev., Inc. v. Lisa Daly Lady Décor, Inc., 698 So. 2d 276, 278 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).
We also find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to deny
Gregory’s request to be recalled to the witness stand as a rebuttal witness. See
Gutierrez v. Vargas, 239 So. 3d 615, 625 (Fla. 2018) (holding: “Courts should
exercise their discretion to avoid the needless waste of time through unnecessary
presentation of cumulative evidence.”)
Finally, we affirm the trial court’s order granting a collateral source set-off,
with the exception of the $555.80 paid by Gregory to Sweet Bay Pharmacy, which
was erroneously excluded by the trial court. The undisputed post-judgment evidence
presented to the trial court established Gregory’s payment of the Sweet Bay
Pharmacy bill in this amount, and thus, the trial court should have included that
2
figure in its calculation of the amounts to be awarded in the final judgment. On
remand, the final judgment should be amended to include that amount, reduced by
the corresponding comparative negligence as determined by the jury’s verdict.
We affirm without discussion of the other points raised by Gregory in this
appeal.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for further proceedings.
3