SUSAN KIRKPATRICK, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN ZITZ AND TRANSAMERICA INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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Kirkpatrick appeals dismissal of her complaint alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress against her insurer, Transamerica, for allegedly directing the pet store owner to conceal information about a skunk that bit her potentially exposing her to rabies. The court reverses, holding that the facts as alleged state a valid cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The court held that the alleged facts do state a valid cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Conduct that is outrageous and extreme, going beyond all bounds of decency and evincing disregard for human life with high probability of severe emotional distress, supports such an action.
[1] A cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress is not barred when the conduct is so outrageous and extreme that it goes beyond all bounds of decency.
[2] Intent to inflict severe emotional distress is immaterial in an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim when the actor knows that such distress is certain or s…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Whether or not Ford Motor Credit intended to inflict severe emotional distress is immaterial. Where the actor knows that such distress is certain, or substantially certain to result from his conduct, the rule applies.”
Establishes that intent to cause emotional distress is not required; knowledge that distress is certain or substantially certain to result is sufficient.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKirkpatrick was bitten by a skunk at a pet store owned by John Zitz. The skunk was sold after biting her and then lost before the rabies incubation pe…
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PER CURIAM.
Kirkpatrick appeals the trial court’s order dismissing the second count of her third amended complaint with prejudice. We reverse and remand.
On July 2, 1979, Kirkpatrick filed a third amended complaint seeking damages for a skunk bite she received while in a pet store owned by John Zitz. The second count of the complaint alleged a cause of action against Zitz’s insurer, Transamerica, for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kirkpatrick asserted Zitz sold the skunk after it bit her and that the skunk was lost prior to the incubation period necessary to see whether the skunk had rabies. Trans-america then allegedly intentionally exposed Kirkpatrick to death by directing Zitz to keep this information from her. Kirkpatrick asserted she suffered severe emotional distress when she learned the information was intentionally withheld and that there was a possibility she had been exposed to a fatal disease. Transamerica moved for and the trial court granted a dismissal.
This cause presents the question of whether the facts alleged an independent cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. In Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Sheehan, 373 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979), this court concluded that there is no bar to such an action when the conduct is so outrageous and extreme that it goes beyond all bounds of decency. In that case, Ford Motor Credit was the causative force which set into play a communication which resulted in severe emotional distress. The court stated:
Whether or not Ford Motor Credit intended to inflict severe emotional distress is immaterial. Where the actor knows that such distress is certain, or substantially certain to result from his conduct, the rule applies. ... It also applies where he acts recklessly “in deliberate disregard of a high degree of probability that the emotional distress will follow.” (citations omitted).
Id. at 958, 959.
The complaint below alleges Transameri-ca directed Zitz not to tell Kirkpatrick of the skunk’s disappearance. This conduct, if true, is outrageous and extreme in that it intolerably evinces a disregard for human life and the high probability that severe emotional distress would follow. Lay v. Roux Laboratories, Inc., 379 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).
We have reviewed the record and have determined Kirkpatrick’s third amended complaint adequately states a cause of action against Transamerica. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
MILLS, BOOTH and LARRY G. SMITH, JJ., concur.
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Dominguez v. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y OF the United States, 438 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)…fman v. Jones, 280 So. 2d 431 (Fla.1973), the district courts of appeal have forged ahead, and the First, Fourth and Fifth Districts, joining the majority view in this country, have concluded that the cause of action exists. See Kirkpatrick v. Zitz, 401 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (cause of action allowed); Lay v. Roux Laboratories, Inc., 379 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980) (same); Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Sheehan, 373 So. 2d at 960 (same); Dowling v. Blue Cross of Florida, Inc., 338 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA…
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Dependable Life Ins. Co. v. Harris, 510 So. 2d 985 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…. Lay v. Roux Laboratories, Inc., 379 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); Estate of Morton v. U.S. Fidelity & Guar. Co., 460 So. 2d 526 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). . See Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. McCarson, 467 So. 2d 277 (Fla.1985); Kirkpatrick v. Zitz, 401 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1st DCA), dismissed, 411 So. 2d 385 (Fla.1981). . e. The extreme and outrageous character of the conduct may arise from an abuse by the actor of a position, or a relation with the other, which gives him actual or apparent authority over the…
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Vivienne Clemente and Jose Louis Herrada v. Horne, 707 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…s to the disabled plaintiff that plaintiff was no longer disabled, that she received a letter from her eye doctor asserting as such, and that she was no longer covered under her policy, and that she should surrender the policy); Kirkpatrick v. Zitz, 401 So. 2d 850, 851 (Fla. 1st DCA), dismissed sub nom. Transamerica Ins. Co. v. Kirkpatrick, 411 So. 2d 385 (Fla.1981) (insurer of pet store deliberately exposed plaintiff to death by directing pet store owner not to tell plaintiff that the skunk, which bit her in…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Donesta S. LAY and Larry R. Lay v. Roux Labs., Inc., 379 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Sheehan, 373 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)