The Tipsy Coachman Rule

From DePuy v. Waxman


The tipsy coachman rule provides that “ ‘if a trial court reaches the right result, but for the wrong reasons, it will be upheld if there is any basis which would support the judgment in the record.’ “ Malu v. Sec. Nat. Ins. Co., 898 So.2d 69, 73 (Fla.2005) (quoting Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d 638, 644 (Fla.1999)). The supreme court has explained the rule as follows:“[I]t follows that an appellee, in arguing for the affirmance of a judgment, is not limited to legal arguments expressly asserted as grounds for the judgment in the court below. It stands to reason that the appellee can present any argument supported by the record even if not expressly asserted in the lower court․[A]n appellee need not raise and preserve alternative grounds for the lower court's judgment in order to assert them in defense when the appellant attacks the judgment on appeal.”Id. (quoting Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d at 645).