A ruling that granted Polk County School Board a new trial after losing a negligent hiring case was reversed.
On March 11, the District Court of Appeal of Florida’s Second District reversed the ruling from the Circuit Court for Polk County.
Devarus Robinson was previously awarded damages for the negligent hiring, supervision, or retention of a football coach case he brought against the school board in the lower court. Robinson accused the coach of physically abusing him and bruising his nipples multiple times. The circuit court also granted the school board’s motion for a new trial, which the appeals court has now reversed.
“Because it appears that the circuit court’s order utilized an erroneous legal standard, we reverse the circuit court’s order and remand with directions to the circuit court to reinstate the jury’s verdict,” wrote Justice Matthew C. Lucas. Justices Darryl C. Casanueva and Patricia J. Kelly concurred.
The school board’s main argument was that Robinson’s lawyer made a gesture that could potentially show Robinson’s bruises during a closing argument. While the school board didn’t take issue with the alleged gesture then, it later filed a motion with claims it didn’t receive a fair trial.
“We have no qualm accepting the veracity of the trial court’s observations about Mr. Robinson’s conduct during his attorney’s closing rebuttal,” wrote Justice Lucas.
The judges also called out the lower court for not evaluating the alleged gesture at the time it happened.
“The trial court’s observations that his motion was a ‘close call’ and could have been decided by a ‘coin flip’ indicate that it would not have found that Mr. Robinson’s actions during his lawyer’s closing rebuttal met the high thresholds,” Judge Lucas wrote.
Instead, the judges said the lower court incorrectly used a legal regulation to grant the motion for the new trial.
Robinson, who previously played football for a Polk County high school team, sued with allegations that his coach often verbally and physically abused him. He said it wasn’t rare for the coach to pinch or twist his nipples. He said he reported the alleged behavior in September 2011, but the coach didn’t receive any type of consequence. At the same time, Robinson said he had less playing time on the field. He sued for physical and emotional injuries that he said were a result of the coach’s conduct.
Robinson was awarded $125,000 in general damages, but the school board was initially granted its motion for a new trial. In its motion, for the first time it took issue with a gesture Robinson’s lawyer made during the closing arguments. The gesture isn’t recorded but the school board claimed that the coach gestured to Robinson, causing Robinson to stand up and nearly unbutton his shirt to show his potentially bruised nipples. The school board said this prevented it from having a fair trial because evidence had already been presented.
While the lower court granted the motion, the appeals court disagreed and reversed the ruling in favor of the school board.