PAMELA TESTA AND LEONARD TESTA, APPELLANTS,
v.
DR. WILLIAM M. PFAFF, DR. STEPHEN L. HILL, DR. HARRY BERGER, DR. NIKOLAUS GRAVENSTEIN, AND SHANDS TEACHING HOSPITAL AND CLINICS, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1985-02-20
No. AZ-8
BOOTH, SHIVERS and ZEHMER, JJ., concur.
464 So. 2d 220 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1985) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Holding

The court held that the affidavits supporting the defendants' claim of sovereign immunity were insufficient because they stated ultimate facts rather than underlying facts.


Headnotes

[1] Affidavits supporting a claim of sovereign immunity must state underlying facts, not merely ultimate facts or conclusions of law.

[2] Summary judgment based on sovereign immunity is improper when the affidavits fail to establish the factual basis for the defendant's status as an agent or employee acting…

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Facts & Procedural History

Appellants sued doctors and a hospital for medical malpractice, alleging the doctors were agents of the hospital. The doctors moved for summary judgme…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This cause is before us on appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendants Gravenstein and Hill, appellees herein, in a suit for medical malpractice filed by appellants Testa against various doctors and Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc. The complaint alleges, in part, that defendant Doctors Gravenstein and Hill were agents, servants, and/or employees of Shands, and at all times material, were acting within the scope and course of such agency.

Prior to answer, defendants Gravenstein and Hill filed motions for summary judgment based on the sovereign immunity provisions of Section 768.28(9), Florida Statutes (1981). Affidavits filed in support of the motions stated, simply, that at all material times, defendants were acting as agents or employees of the Board of Regents of the State of Florida as resident physicians1 and that defendants were therefore entitled to personal immunity from suit.

The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of defendants Hill and Gra-venstein based on Section 768.28(9), Florida Statutes.

After argument and upon consideration of, the record and briefs, we must reverse summary judgment entered in favor of defendants Hill and Gravenstein. The affirmative defense of sovereign immunity in this case requires determination of the relationship^) of the defendants to the Board of Regents of Florida. The affidavits filed are insufficient since they are based on ultimate facts2 or factual conclusions and are without statement of the underlying facts which give rise to such conclusions. Lake v. Konstantinu, 189 So. 2d 171 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966); Dean v. Gold Coast Theatres, Inc., 156 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963).

Accordingly, the judgment must be reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.

BOOTH, SHIVERS and ZEHMER, JJ., concur. .Affidavit of Stephen L. Hill, M.D.:

BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, personally appeared Stephen L. Hill, M.D., who, being first duly sworn, deposes and says the following:

1. That he is a defendant in the above-entitled cause.

2. That at all times material to this cause of action he was employed as a resident physician by the Board of Regents of the State of Florida.

3. That his participation in the care and treatment of the plaintiff Pamela Testa is contained in his sworn deposition given in this cause on 2 February 1983, the original of which is either in the possession or under the control of plaintiffs’ counsel.

4. That his participation in the care and treatment of the plaintiff Pamela Testa was entirely within the scope of his employment with the Board of Regents of the State of Florida.

5.That at no time during the course of his participation in the care and treatment of Mrs. Testa did he act in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of the rights, safety, or property of the plaintiffs.

Further affiant sayeth not.

Affidavit of Nikolaus Gravenstein, M.D.:

NIKOLAUS GRAVENSTEIN, M.D., being duly sworn by me, the undersigned official, deposes and says upon oath:

1. That he is a Defendant in the above entitled cause.

2. That this affidavit is made and given in support of his Motion for Summary Judgment, filed herein, and is based upon his direct and personal knowledge of the matters contained herein.

3. That in every contact which he had with Plaintiff Pamela Testa, as a patient at Shands Teaching Hospital & Clinics, and with questions concerning her diagnosis, physical condition, and treatment, he was, and was acting solely as, a resident in anesthesiology and, as such, was an agent or employee of the Board of Regents of Florida, a State agency, and in all of the same did not act in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and wilful disregard of the rights, safety or property of Plaintiffs.

. As defined in Black’s Law Dictionary, “ultimate facts” are:

Facts necessary and essential for a decision by a court. Those facts which it is expected evidence will support. Those facts found in that vaguely defined field lying between evidential facts on the one side and the primary issue or conclusion of law on the other, being but the logical results of the proofs or in other words mere conclusions of fact. The final or resulting fact reached by processes of logical reasoning from the detached or successive facts in evidence, and which is fundamental and determinative of the whole case.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Ragoonanan v. Assocs. IN Obstetrics & Gynecology, 619 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
    …asonable basis for their claim and should have survived a motion to dismiss. At the outset, we note that there is insufficient evidence in the record at this stage of the proceedings to determine the issue of sovereign immunity. See Testa v. Pfaff, 464 So. 2d 220 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Thus, dismissal on that basis was premature. We also reject as a ground for dismissal the hospital’s claim that the Ra-goonanans failed to cooperate in good faith with presuit discovery, as required by section 766.205, Florida…
  • …issue of material fact. The prior affidavit of Dr. Lane, which was identical to the affidavit of Dr. Hill, did not conclusively establish all details of the relationship between the doctors and the various entities involved. Compare Testa v. Pfaff, 464 So. 2d 220 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). The individual responsibilities of the two doctors could also raise a question as to whether Dr. Lane is possessed of information not encompassed within the deposition of Dr. Hill. And appellants’ counsel could arguably make mor…
  • Gardner v. Edward W. Holifield, M.D., 639 So. 2d 652 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …t 1288. The question of scope of state employment presents a jury issue when it arises upon disputed facts. Shands Teaching Hospital & Clinics, Inc. v. Pendley, 577 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. denied, 587 So. 2d 1329 (Fla.1991); Testa v. Pfaff, 464 So. 2d 220 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); see also Saudi Arabian Airlines Corp. v. Dunn, 438 So. 2d 116, 121 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (“whether an employee’s tortious acts are within the scope of his employment relationship is normally to be determined by the jury, except in…

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