KELLER INDUSTRIES, INC., PETITIONER,
v.
KWAYNE KENNEDY, RESPONDENT
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Florida appellate court quashed trial court's order allowing punitive damages claim without first conducting required evidentiary hearing to establish factual basis under section 768.72.
A trial court must conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a factual basis for punitive damages exists before allowing a punitive damages claim to proceed.
[1] Before permitting a claim for punitive damages, a trial court must conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a factual basis for such damages exists under secti…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a claim for punitive damages may not be asserted without a trial court having first determined that a factual basis for such damages exists as required by section 768.72, Florida Statutes (1993)”
Court's statement of controlling law regarding procedural requirement for punitive damages claims
Keller Industries moved to dismiss counts I, III, and IV of Kennedy's amended complaint, with count IV alleging intentional torts and seeking punitive…
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PER CURIAM.
We grant this petition for writ of certiorari. Petitioner filed a motion to dismiss counts I, III and IV of respondent’s amended complaint. Count IV alleged intentional torts and sought leave to claim punitive damages. The trial court granted petitioner’s motion to dismiss as to counts I and IV with leave for respondent to seek punitive damages in a second amended complaint. The trial court had not, however, conducted an evidentiary hearing on respondent’s entitlement to such damages.
This court has consistently held that a claim for punitive damages may not be as serted without a trial court having first determined that a factual basis for such damages exists as required by section 768.72, Florida Statutes (1993). See Mayer v. Frank, 659 So. 2d 1254 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Oriole Homes Corp. v. Stevens, 638 So. 2d 634 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Kraft Gen. Foods, Inc. v. Rosenblum, 635 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 642 So. 2d 1363 (Fla.1994); see also Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So. 2d 518 (Fla.1995). Accordingly, we quash that part of the trial court’s order providing, “Plaintiff may serve an Amended Complaint containing a claim for punitive damages and this Court will then hold an evidentiary hearing to determine if Plaintiff may proceed.”
CERTIORARI GRANTED.
DELL, FARMER and GROSS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Waterfront Builders, Inc. v. Degirolarmo, 675 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)…PER CURIAM. We grant the petition for writ of certiorari and quash the order denying the motion to strike the claim for punitive damages. See § 768.72, Fla.Stat. (1996); Keller Indus., Inc. v. Kennedy, 668 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Walt Disney World Co. v. Noordhoek, 672 So. 2d 98 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Kraft Gen. Foods, Inc. v. Rosenblum, 635 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 642 So. 2d 1363 (Fla.1994). WARNER, FARMER and PARIENTE, JJ., concur.…
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Sunbelt Distribs., Inc. v. Kleinrichert, 702 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…enied petitioner’s motion to strike the punitive damage claim. We therefore grant this petition for writ of certiorari and quash the order denying petitioner’s motion to strike respondent’s claim for punitive damages. Keller Indus., Inc. v. Kennedy, 668 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) and cases cited therein. STONE, C.J., and POLEN and KLEIN, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1995)
- Houston v. State, 635 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Nickerson v. State, 635 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Mayer v. Frank, 659 So. 2d 1254 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Young v. State, 638 So. 2d 634 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)