The tough question of when it’s appropriate for judges rather than juries to decide civil cases is back in the Florida Supreme Court. Both plaintiffs and defense lawyers will be hanging on every word.

The issue surfaced in Harvey v. Geico, a bad faith insurance case from the Fourth District Court of Appeal. Apparently, the last time a Fourth District case involving a directed verdict elicited a high court ruling was two years ago in Sanders v. ERP. It didn’t go well for the Fourth District.