PERSONAL INJURY CORNER
Florida Supreme Court Allows Appeal of Punitive Damage Orders
TED BABBITT
The Florida Supreme Court on January 6 , 2022 , in case number SC 21-129 amended Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130 to allow non-final orders granting or denying leave to amended complaints to assert claims for punitive damages .
Rule 9.130 proceedings to review nonfinal orders and specified final orders was amended to read : ( a ) applicability ( 3 ) appeals to the District Courts of Appeal of non-final orders are limited to those that ( G ) grant or deny a motion for leave to amend to assert a claim for punitive damages .
As has been the case recently , the Supreme Court decided to amend this rule on its own motion and not related to any pending case . The Appellate Rules Committee had twice before declined to enter a similar rule and at the oral argument told the Supreme Court that “ it would not have supported the amendment but for the mandate of the court ” because the Court had directed the Appellate Rules Committee to prepare an amendment to this rule .
The decision to amend the rule was met with a dissent by Justice LaBarga who made it clear that he did not think the amendment was needed and that it would have terrible consequences . He stated , “ the unfortunate consequence of this drastic change in Appellate procedure will be unnecessary and unwarranted delays in civil actions with claims for punitive damages . Undoubtedly , once the interlocutory vehicle of Appellate review is available , it is not unreasonable to expect that the losing party will choose to pursue an immediate appeal of the trial court ’ s order in most , if not all , cases , adding to the case load of Appellate Courts . Once the trial courts ruling is appealed , the case will necessarily stall at the trial level
until the District Court renders a ruling on whether the claim for punitive damages was properly permitted .
Given this additional delay it is also not unreasonable to anticipate that some claimants in civil cases may reluctantly forego meritorious claims for punitive damages in order to avoid delay in bringing their cases to a final resolution ." The Appellate Rules Committee at the hearing noted that in a 2018 , 50 state survey no other state had a rule like this one adopted . It is this author ' s personal opinion , that the Florida Supreme Court has become an activist court seemingly pursuing its own agenda rather than responding to the needs of litigants or The Bar . Rather than let rules emanate from Rules Committees , the Court on it ’ s own motion has now adopted numerous changes in the Florida Rules . It remains to be seen whether that is provident or improvident .
Could You Pass the Civics Test to Become a Naturalized Citizen ?
The Palm Beach County Bar Association , along with members of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County , will host a special Cocktail Reception and Lecture by Judge Douglas Ginsburg on “ Could You Pass the Civics Test to Become a Naturalized Citizen ?” Judge Ginsburg is an American jurist and academic who serves on the U . S . Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia . He was appointed to the court at age 40 by President Reagan and served as its chief judge from 2001-2008 .
Thursday , April 28 , 2022 5:00 P . M . to 7:00 P . M . Historic Courtroom , 300 North Dixie Highway , West Palm Beach
Senior Circuit Judge Douglas H . Ginsburg United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Space Limited . PBCBA Members : $ 20.00
RSVP @ https :// pbchistory . org / events / ginsburg /
Thank you to our sponsors :
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 10