PAUL H. BASS, APPELLANT,
v.
MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS, A PARTNERSHIP AND ANGEL CASTILLO, JR., APPELLEES
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Paul Bass appealed the dismissal of his amended complaint against Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Angel Castillo, Jr., seeking damages based on an alleged violation of Florida's extortion statute. The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal, holding that violation of the extortion statute does not give rise to a private civil cause of action.
The court held that no violation of the extortion statute gives rise to a civil cause of action. A private right of action can arise only from the violation of a statutory provision that imposes a duty for the benefit of a special class of individuals, and the extortion statute does not meet this requirement.
[1] A violation of a penal statute does not, per se, give rise to civil liability.
[2] Civil liability may arise from the violation of a penal statute only if the statute imposes a duty for the benefit of a special class of individuals.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“no violation of the statute gives rise to a civil cause of action”
Establishes the core holding that violation of the extortion statute does not create private right of action
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAngel Castillo, Jr. wrote a letter to Paul Bass that Bass claimed violated Florida's extortion statute (section 836.05). Bass filed an amended complai…
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PER CURIAM.
The opinion in this cause filed April 15, 1986, is hereby withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted in its place.
This is an appeal from the dismissal with prejudice of an amended complaint which, insofar as is now relevant, claimed the right to compensatory and punitive damages on the theory that a letter written by the appellee Castillo to the appellant Bass violated section 836.05, Florida Statutes (1983), which creates the crime of extortion.1 We affirm.
We do not decide whether the contents of the correspondence in question were in fact in violation of the pertinent statute.2 This is because we hold that no violation of the statute gives rise to a civil cause of action. In the recent case of Lavis Plumbing Services, Inc. v. Johnson, 515 So. 2d 296, 298 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), this court noted that the mere violation of the penal statutes does not give rise to liability per se. Tourismart of America, Inc. v. Gonzalez, 498 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986).
It was pointed out that such liability could arise only from the violation of a provision which imposes a duty for the benefit of a special class of individuals. Accordingly, Lavis Plumbing Services, Inc. held that, because section 843.08, the “impersonating an officer” statute, was intended to protect only the public and did not fall within this description, its violation did not create a damage action. The statutory history and intendment of the extortion statute before us cannot be distinguished from the one considered in Lavis. Consequently, we are bound to hold that the civil cause of action now asserted may not be maintained. In doing so, we reach the same conclusion as that in Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Ferre, 636 F.Supp. 970 (S.D.Fla.1985), which squarely so held as to the identical issue involving the Florida extortion statute, and by well reasoned authority from a sibling jurisdiction. Grimm v. Bam, 22 Misc.2d 982, 195 N.Y.S.2d 36 (Sup.Ct.1959). Contra Elbe v. Wausau Hosp. Center, 606 F.Supp. 1491 (W.D.Wis.1985), aff’d sub. nom. Callaway v. Hafeman, 832 F. 2d 414 (7th Cir.1987).
Affirmed.
. The appellant Bass also alleged a defamation claim but does not challenge the trial court's dismissal of that count.
Similarly, Bass does not contend that there is any common law action for damages based upon allegedly extortionate conduct. In fact, it is clear that none exists. Leventhal v. Dockser, 361 Mass. 894, 282 N.E. 2d 680 (1972); Blaz v. Molin Concrete Products Co., 309 Minn. 382, 244 N.W. 2d 277 (1976); see Wykle v. Valley Fidelity Bank & Trust Co., 658 S.W. 2d 96 (Tenn.Ct.App.1983).
. The statutory provisions enacted in 1986, which create a civil remedy for the victim, inter alia, of a pattern of criminal extortions, see §§ 772.102( l)(a)(22), 772.103, 772.104, Fla.Stat. (Supp.1986), are inapplicable to the present case which arose prior to their adoption.
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Ponzoli & Wassenberg, P.A. v. Zuckerman, 545 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…his appeal we have accepted appellee’s contention that he reasonably believed there was a private right of action for section 836.05 at the time he filed his complaint. This court has since adopted the contrary view. Bass v. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, 516 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), review denied, 525 So. 2d 876 (Fla.1988).…
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Am. Nat'l Title & Escrow OF Fla., Inc. v. The Guar. Title & Tr. Co., 748 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…lants paid the money they owed might be actionable independent of an abuse of process claim as a cause of action for extortion. There is, however, no common law action for damages based upon extortionate conduct. See Bass v. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, 516 So. 2d 1011, 1011 n. 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Guarantee Title, T.A. Title, J. William Cotter, and receiver Larry Rothen-berg have cross-appealed the denial of their motions for summary judgment which were based upon the same absolute immunity claim. We have no ju…
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S.M. Fischer v. G.W. Metcalf, M.D., 543 So. 2d 785 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…o recede will not undermine prior case law in this district. In our more recent opinions, we have not strictly applied the Rosenberg test but have incorporated the substance of the Cort factors into our analyses. See Bass v. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, 516 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) (court looked to additional factors of statutory history and intendment of extortion statute to hold no civil cause of action for violation of statute creating crime of extortion), rev. denied, 525 So. 2d 876 (Fla.1988); Lavis Plu…
Authorities Cited
- Franzetta Callaway v. Hafeman, 832 F.2d 414 (7th Cir. 1987)
- State v. Troutman, 498 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- Miami Herald Publ'g Co. v. Ferre, 636 F. Supp. 970 (S.D. Fla. 1985)
- Lavis Plumbing Servs., Inc. v. Johnson, 515 So. 2d 296 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)