DEPT. OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
v.
MICHAEL BARNETT
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The Department of Financial Services appeals from a circuit court decision regarding the scope of sovereign immunity limitations under Florida Statutes § 768.28(5). The court narrowly construed the statute to cap liability at $200,000 for multiple claims arising from the same negligent act by a state agency, but certified the issue as one of great public importance for further review.
The court narrowly construed section 768.28(5) to limit sovereign immunity waiver to $200,000 total when multiple claims arise from the same negligent act(s) by a state agency. However, the court acknowledged that a broader statutory interpretation could allow a per-injury limitation.
[1] When multiple claims of injury or death arise from the same negligent act committed by a state agency, section 768.28(5), Florida Statutes, imposes a single aggregate cap…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMultiple claims for injury or death arose from the same negligent act(s) committed by a state agency. The case involved two consolidated appeals from …
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Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; David E. French, Judge; L.T. Case Nos. 502012CA004183MBAJ and 502012CA000179MB.
Sheridan Weissenborn of Dutton Law Group, P.A., Miami, for appellant Department of Financial Services.
H.T. Smith of the Law Offices of H.T. Smith, P.A., Coral Gables, and John W. McLuskey of McLuskey, McDonald & Hughes, P.A., Miami, for appellee Michael Barnett.
Vincent E. Miller of the Law Offices of Vincent E. Miller, P.A., Delray Beach, for appellee Leroy Nelson, Jr. ON MOTION TO CERTIFY QUESTION OF GREAT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE PER CURIAM.
Unfortunately, our state has experienced a number of high-profile mass shootings in the past several years, some of which have led to negligence complaints against state agencies. In our opinion in the instant case, we narrowly construed section 768.28(5), Florida Statutes (2010), to limit the sovereign immunity waiver to $200,0001 when there are multiple claims arising out of the same negligent act(s) committed by the state agency. However, we acknowledge that a broader reading of the statute could allow a per injury limitation.
Because this issue may continue to arise in the context of mass shootings and other mass injury events, we certify the following question as one of great public importance:
WHEN MULTIPLE CLAIMS OF INJURY OR DEATH ARISE FROM THE SAME ACT OF NEGLIGENCE COMMITTED BY A STATE AGENCY OR ACTOR, DOES THE LIMITATION ON THE WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY IN SECTION 768.28(5), FLORIDA STATUTES, CAP THE LIABILITY OF STATE AGENCIES AT $200,000 FOR ALL RESULTING INJURIES OR DEATHS, AS CLAIMS AND JUDGMENTS “ARISING OUT OF THE SAME INCIDENT OR OCCURRENCE”? WARNER, MAY and FORST, JJ., concur. 1 The statute was amended in 2016 to increase the cap to $300,000 for all claims or judgments.