5D00-842 Taylor v. School Board

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D00-842

Case Date: 07/09/2001

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JULY TERM 2001

LAWRENCE TAYLOR and MARIE TAYLOR, Appellant, v. SCHOOL BOARD OF BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, Appellee. ___________________________________________/ Opinion filed July 13, 2001. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Lisa D. Kahn, Judge. Joseph H. Williams of Troutman, Williams, Irvin, Green & Helms, P.A., Winter Park, for Appellant. Kelley B. Gelb of Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Roselli, Buser, Slama, Hancock, McNelis, Liberman & McKee, P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, Amicus Curiae for Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. Michael H. Bowling of Bell, Leeper & Roper, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee. THOMPSON, C.J. Lawrence Taylor and his wife, Marie (collectively "Taylor") appeal a summary final judgment entered in favor of the School Board of Brevard County ("school board"). We CASE NO. 5D00-842

affirm. Taylor was injured in the course of his work as a bus attendant, when a wheelchair lift affixed to the bus fell on him. Two people were involved in the deployment of the lift: the bus driver, who operated the control; and Taylor, the attendant, who was stationed outside the bus to open the doors. On the day of the accident, the emergency release pin plate on the mechanism was loose because the rivets had worn off. This caused the lift to fall as soon as the doors opened. The lock assembly on the lift was repaired some four months prior to the accident. A week before the accident, the lift was re-positioned by a school board mechanic after a complaint that the lift had "bound up." The lift was last inspected and lubricated in the shop two days before the accident. A school board mechanic testified that the rivets may have worn out due to the lift having become "bound up." He also testified that an inspection of the lock assembly should have revealed the problem. On October 2, 1998, Taylor brought the instant action against the school board. Taylor subsequently filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking a declaration that his work for the school board was unrelated to that performed by the school board's school bus maintenance personnel. The school board filed a cross motion for summary judgment on the ground it was immune under Florida's Worker's Compensation Law. Following a hearing on the motions the trial court denied Taylor's motion and granted the motion of the school board. A final judgment in favor of the school board was entered and Taylor appeals. This case turns on the intended scope of the "unrelated works" exception to the immunity from suit provision in Florida's Workers' Compensation Law.

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