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.

After a murderous home invasion at a gated apartment community in Plantation, the family of slain siblings Clara Sanders, 20, and Chauncey Sanders, 17, sued landlord ERP Operating L.P. for negligent security. A Broward Circuit jury awarded the Sanders family $1.8 million, and Judge Thomas Lynch refused to direct a verdict for the landlord.