## Facts

- A driver (Philip Francis Hoffman, Jr.) operating a truck owned by Pav-A-Way Corporation was involved in a collision that resulted in the death of William Harrison Jones, Jr.
- The decedent’s estate, through the administratrix Hazel J. Jones, brought a wrongful death negligence action against the driver and the truck’s owner.
- Defendants asserted contributory negligence as a complete defense.
- The trial court refused the plaintiff’s requested comparative-negligence jury instruction and submitted the case under contributory negligence principles.
- The jury returned a verdict for the defendants.

## Issues

1. Whether Florida should replace the contributory negligence rule (plaintiff’s negligence as a complete bar) with comparative negligence.
2. Whether a district court of appeal may overrule Florida Supreme Court precedent by adopting comparative negligence.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court answered the certified question yes and replaced contributory negligence with a pure comparative negligence system.
- The Court held the district court exceeded its authority to the extent it purported to overrule Florida Supreme Court precedent; the proper course was to follow precedent and certify the question.
- The Court adopted comparative negligence for the case at hand and for future cases, with application to certain pending cases not yet reduced to final judgment.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings under comparative negligence.

## Legal Principles

- Contributory negligence as a complete bar to recovery in negligence actions is abolished; a plaintiff’s negligence reduces damages in proportion to the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.
- Florida follows pure comparative negligence: recovery is not barred even if the plaintiff’s fault exceeds the defendant’s, but damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s share of fault.
- Courts may modify or abrogate judge-made doctrines when they no longer serve just results; legislative inaction does not prevent judicial correction of judicially created rules.
- Intermediate appellate courts are bound by Florida Supreme Court precedent; when disagreement exists, they must apply controlling precedent and may certify a question for review.

## Conclusion

Florida replaced contributory negligence with pure comparative negligence, requiring fault-based apportionment of damages in negligence actions while reaffirming that only the Florida Supreme Court may overrule its own tort precedents.


Hoffman v. Jones, 280 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 1973)