MARK H. LEINBERGER AND KYLE FOREMAN, PETITIONERS,
v.
JOEL MAGEE, RESPONDENT
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Petitioners seek certiorari review of a trial court order granting respondent's motion for leave to claim punitive damages. The court finds the trial court failed to follow the procedural requirements mandated by statute and case law for permitting punitive damages claims.
The trial court's order granting the motion for leave to claim punitive damages is quashed because it failed to comply with three procedural requirements: (1) no proposed amended pleading was attached to the motion; (2) no proffer or evidence supporting the punitive damages claim was served at least twenty days before the hearing; and (3) the court made no affirmative finding that a reasonable showing of evidence provided a reasonable evidentiary basis for recovering such damages.
[1] Certiorari review of an order granting leave to amend a complaint to include a claim for punitive damages is limited to whether the trial court complied with the procedur…
[2] To obtain leave to amend a complaint to seek punitive damages, the movant must file the proposed amended pleading, serve the proffer or other evidence prior to the hearin…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a punitive damages claim is permitted only on a "reasonable showing by evidence in the record or proffered by the claimant which would provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such damages."”
Establishes the statutory standard under Florida Statutes section 768.72(1) for permitting punitive damages claims
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioners Mark Leinberger and Kyle Foreman filed a complaint against Joel Magee alleging tortious interference with a business relationship and defa…
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Petitioners Mark Leinberger and Kyle Forman seek certiorari review of a trial court order that granted respondent Joel Magee’s motion for leave to claim punitive damages. Certiorari lies to review this order because the trial court failed to follow the procedures required for such pleadings. See Tilton v. Wrobel, 198 So.3d 909 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016).
The complaint alleged tortious interference with a business relationship and defamation. An email attached to the complaint was sent to a hotél representative at a site where respondent had contractually agreed to conduct a toy buying event. The email contained a claim that respondent was acting beyond his .contractually limited territory in conducting the event there, had a poor reputation in the collectible toy community and had “run afoul of the Better Business Bureau.”'
The trial court conducted a hearing on respondent’s motion for leave to amend, but- there was no court reporter present and thus no transcript can be provided. The court granted the motion in an order that did not explain its rationale'"and did not indicate for which counts it intended to allow a punitive damages claim.
Section 768.72(1), Florida Statutes (2016), provides that a punitive damages claim is permitted only on a “reasonable showing by evidence in the record or proffered by the claimant which would provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such damages.” In Varnedore v. Copeland, 210 So.3d 741 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017), the Fifth District recently granted a petition while framing the procedural requirements for a motion for leave to amend to seek punitive damages.
First, the movant must attach "the pro-1 posed amended pleading to the motion seeking leave to amend, in compliance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a). Id. at 744-47. The record in this case reveals no proposed amended pleading was attached to respondent’s motion for leave to amend. Petitioner correctly argues that this failure warrants certiorari relief. “Moving to amend without attaching a copy of the proposed amended pleading is insufficient.” Id. at 745.
Second, Vamedore held that pursuant to rule 1.190(f), the “proffer” or .other evidence of record’ to support the punitive damages claim must be served prior to the hearing on the motion for leave to amend. Id. at 747. The rule requires that it be *901served at least twenty days before the hearing. Our record does not demonstrate compliance with this requirement either.
Third, the trial court must make an affirmative finding that the plaintiff made a “ ‘reasonable showing by evidence,’ which would provide a ‘reasonable evidentiary basis for recovering such damages’ if the motion to amend is granted.” Id. at 747-48 (quoting SAP Am. Inc. v. Royal Flowers, Inc., 187 So.3d 946, 947 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)). The trial court’s order under review contained no such finding and did not reference such an affirmative finding made at the hearing either.
In granting the petition, this court is not reweighing or considering the sufficiency of the evidence presented. That is not permitted under the case law. Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So.2d 518, 520 (Fla. 1995). Rather, we conclude that the trial court failed to comport with the procedural requirements for entertaining and ruling on a motion to amend under section 768.72(1), Florida Statutes (2016), Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a) and the case law.
Petition granted. Order quashed.
Gross, Levine and Klingensmith, JJ., concur.
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The Event Depot Corp. v. Frank, 269 So. 3d 559 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019)…. 3 658 So. 2d 518, 519 (Fla. 1995) (emphasis added). In Leinberger v. Magee, this court, relying on a decision of the Fifth District, 3 explained what the procedural requirements of section 768.72 entail. 226 So. 3d 899, 900 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). “First, the movant must attach the proposed amended pleading to the motion seeking leave to amend in compliance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a).” Id. Second, “the ‘proffer’ or other evidence of record to suppo…
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Vaziri v. Marena Jerkins, 400 So. 3d 634 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025)…nt, could find by clear and convincing evidence that punitive damages are warranted.” Id. at 34. If the motion is to be granted, the court must make an affirmative finding that the necessary evidentiary showing has been made. Leinberger v. Magee, 226 So. 3d 899, 901 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017); Petri Positive Pest Control, Inc. v. CCM Condo. Ass’n, 174 So. 3d 1122, 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015); Varnedore, 210 So. 3d at 747–48. Here, despite expressly recognizing that Plaintiff’s proposed amended complaint did not con…
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JD Duff v. Gillian Racine, 414 So. 3d 231 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1995)
- Birdie M. Varnedore, M.D. v. Copeland, 210 So. 3d 741 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)
- Tilton v. Andrzej Wrobel, 198 So. 3d 909 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)
- SAP Am., Inc. v. Royal Flowers, Inc., 187 So. 3d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)