Case Name: U.S. SECURITY SERVICES CORPORATION, a Florida corporation, and Jimmy Lee Grant, Appellants, v. RAMADA INN, INC., etc. et al., Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1995-11-15
Citations: 665 So. 2d 268
Docket Number: No. 93-1712
Parties: U.S. SECURITY SERVICES CORPORATION, a Florida corporation, and Jimmy Lee Grant, Appellants, v. RAMADA INN, INC., etc. et al., Appellees.
Judges: Before HUBBART, BASKIN and GODERICH, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 665
Pages: 268–271

Head Matter:
U.S. SECURITY SERVICES CORPORATION, a Florida corporation, and Jimmy Lee Grant, Appellants, v. RAMADA INN, INC., etc. et al., Appellees.
No. 93-1712.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Nov. 15, 1995.
Order Denying Rehearing Jan. 10, 1996.
Perse & Ginsberg and Arnold R. Ginsberg; Jay Rothlein, Miami, for appellants.
Brian S. Keif, Key Biscayne, for appellees.
Before HUBBART, BASKIN and GODERICH, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal by the plaintiff Jimmie Lee Grant and the codefendant U.S. Security Services Corporation [USS] from an amended final judgment entered upon a partially favorable jury verdict in a negligence action arising from a criminal attack by a third party against- the plaintiff while he was a business invitee of the defendants Ramada Inn, Inc., Prime Motor Inns, Inc. and State Southern Management Company [Ramada].
The jury awarded damages for the plaintiff in its verdict and found that (1) Ramada was 50% negligent [based on evidence that Ramada's desk clerk was actively negligent in the incident sued upon by refusing to allow the plaintiff to call the police from a Ramada phone in the motel lobby]; (2) the codefend-ant USS was 35% negligent [based on evidence that USS's security guard on duty in the motel was actively negligent in failing to protect the plaintiff from the criminal attack suffered by the plaintiff on Ramada's premises]; (3) the plaintiff was 15% comparatively negligent; and (4) USS acted as an "agent" of Ramada during the incident sued upon.
In accord with the jury verdict, the trial court entered judgment against Ramada for 50% of the total damages awarded and against both USS and Ramada, jointly and severally, for 35% of the same damages. Subsequently, the trial court granted Ramada's renewed motion for directed verdict (treated as a motion for judgment notwithstanding verdict [JNOV]) on the "agency" issue, finding that USS was an "independent contractor" and not an "agent," and entered the amended final judgment appealed from which holds Ramada solely liable for 50% of the damages and USS solely liable for 35% of the damages.
The plaintiff and USS contend on appeal that the trial court erred in granting Ramada's motion for JNOV and that the original judgment entered by the trial court based on the jury's verdict should be reinstated. We entirely agree based on a holding that (1) Ramada had a non-delegable duty to the plaintiff, as Ramada's business invitee, to provide the plaintiff with reasonably safe premises, including reasonable protection against third party criminal attacks; and (2) Ramada could contract, as it did, with USS, an independent contractor, to provide the required security for its guests, but it was nonetheless vicariously responsible for any negligence of USS in providing such services based on the non-delegable duty theory. Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 71, at 511-12 (W. Page Keeton et al. eds., 5th ed. 1984); see Mortgage Guarantee Ins. Corp. v. Stewart, 427 So.2d 776, 780 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 436 So.2d 101 (Fla.1983); Goldin v. Lipkind, 49 So.2d 539, 541 (Fla.1950).
It therefore follows that Ramada and USS are jointly and severally liable for USS's 35% negligence, and that Ramada is individually liable for its own 50% negligence, as reflected in the original judgment entered by the trial court based on the jury's verdict. It is perfectly obvious that in vicarious liability cases, as here, a joint and several liability judgment must be entered against both the active tortfeasor (USS) and the party which is vicariously responsible for the active tort-feasor's negligence (Ramada), in accord with the percentage of negligence attributed by the jury in its verdict to the active tortfeasor. In addition, the vicarious-liability defendant (Ramada) is also solely hable, as here, for any active negligence committed by one of its employees in accord with the percentage of active negligence found by the jury as to that defendant.
The amended final judgment under review is reversed, and the cause is remanded to the trial court with directions to re-enter the original judgment previously entered on the jury's verdict in this case, except for the agency finding, as the propriety of the JNOV on that issue has not been raised on appeal; accordingly, the JNOV declaring that USS was an independent contractor shall not be disturbed.
Reversed and remanded.