Opinion ID: 1645742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Ramada Inn Action

Text: In the second venture, the parties formed Prime-Florida, Inc., with Prime Motor Inns owning eighty percent of the stock and Waltman and Cohen owning twenty percent. Prime Motor Inns had built a Ramada Inn motel and restaurant and entered into a long-term operating lease for the motel with its wholly-owned subsidiary Prime Management. Prime Management then entered into an operating agreement with Prime-Florida, which in turn entered into a management agreement for the motel's operation with State Southern. Subsequently, petitioner Prime Motor Inns sold the Ramada Inn and restaurant and all related contractual rights, including Prime Management's motel operating lease, to a third party. After the sale, State Southern continued to operate the motel for the new owner. Waltman and Cohen alleged in their complaint that Prime-Florida had a long-term lease for the motel and that Prime Motor Inns had paid itself an illegal dividend from Prime Florida when it sold the leasehold interest. They contended that approximately one-half the purchase price of the motel should be allocated to the sale of the motel's operating lease and that, because they were stockholders of Prime-Florida, they were entitled to a percentage of that sum. On this claim, the jury returned a verdict for Waltman and Cohen in the amount of $200,000. In post-trial motions, the trial judge granted a motion for directed verdict, determining that a directed verdict should have been entered at the close of plaintiffs' case, and concluded that the motion for new trial was moot. On appeal, the district court found that the record established that the last motion for directed verdict was made during a charge conference, held while the trial was still in progress and while evidence was still being received. Finding that petitioner made no motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, the district court reversed. On this issue, we must agree with the district court. Its holding is consistent with our decision in 6551 Collins Avenue Corp. v. Millen, 104 So.2d 337 (Fla. 1958). The principle we adopted in that case is that one who submits his cause to the trier of fact without first moving for directed verdict at the end of all evidence has waived the right to make that motion. The limited exceptions to this rule are not involved in this case. Accordingly, we quash that portion of the district court decision reversing the grant of a new trial in the Howard Johnson's claim and remand with directions that jurisdiction be relinquished to the trial court for entry of an order specifying reasons in support of granting a new trial. We approve that portion of the district court decision reversing entry of directed verdict on the Ramada Inn claim, with directions to remand to the trial court for consideration of the motion for new trial determined moot when the trial court directed the verdict. It is so ordered. BOYD, C.J., and McDONALD, EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., concur. ADKINS, J., concurs in result only.