AMTEC LESS LETHAL SYSTEMS, INC.
v.
TIFFANY MARIE FOWLER, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF THOMAS FOWLER, JR., DECEASED, ET AL.
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The court lacks jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal of an order rejecting an employer's workers' compensation immunity defense in a lawsuit alleging intentional tort.
Amtec Less Lethal Systems, Inc., an employer, sought an interlocutory appeal from a circuit court order that rejected its argument that workers' compe…
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PER CURIAM.
The Court grants Appellee’s motion to dismiss, filed December 6, 2021, and dismisses this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. MAKAR and BILBREY, JJ., concur; KELSEY, J., dissents with opinion.
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Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________
KELSEY, J., dissenting.
I would deny the motion to dismiss this appeal, which raises a significant legal question akin to that recently addressed in Florida Highway Patrol v. Jackson, 288 So. 3d 1179 (Fla. 2020) (interpreting Fla. R. App. P. 9.130 as applied in cases involving the sovereign’s entitlement to immunity from suit). The issue is whether an employer is entitled to an interlocutory appeal of an order rejecting the employer’s argument that its workers compensation immunity as a matter of law can protect it from a circuit-court lawsuit facially alleging an intentional tort. Appellant, the employer here, makes a cogent argument favoring its entitlement to immediate review. This issue will recur without review if not resolved. We have jurisdiction here just as we did in Jackson. Therefore, I would not dispose of the appeal on a motion to dismiss, but rather would allow full merits briefing and keep open the path to Florida Supreme Court review.
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David L. McGee of Beggs & Lane RLLP, Pensacola; Ben A. Andrews and Stephanie L. Clark of Pennington, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Thomas D. Roebig and Shaun M. Cummings of Florin Roebig, PA, Palm Harbor, for Appellee Tiffany Marie Fowler.