STEPHEN A. LEVIN, ALFONSO FERNANDEZ, GOLD COAST BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTORS, INC., N/K/A RMET HOLDINGS, INC., ERAN HOLDINGS, INC., AND GOLD COAST HOLDINGS, INC., PETITIONERS,
v.
WILBUR B. PRITCHARD, III, RESPONDENT.
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Petitioners sought certiorari relief challenging a trial court's order allowing amendments to add a punitive damages claim under Florida Statute § 768.72. The Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District, denied the petition, holding that the trial court complied with all procedural requirements of the statute.
The trial court properly complied with section 768.72's procedural requirements. The court conducted two hearings, required supplemental memoranda addressing the evidentiary basis for punitive damages, allowed full briefing and argument by both sides, and made a finding that Pritchard presented a reasonable evidentiary basis for recovery of punitive damages as required by statute.
[1] Certiorari jurisdiction is appropriate to review an order granting leave to amend a complaint to include punitive damages because section 768.72, Florida Statutes, create…
[2] Review of a trial court's order granting leave to amend a complaint to add a claim for punitive damages is limited to whether the court complied with the procedural requi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a substantive legal right not to be subject to a punitive damages claim and ensuing financial worth discovery until the trial court makes a determination that there is a reasonable evidentiary basis for recovery of punitive damages”
Establishes that section 768.72 creates a substantive right justifying certiorari review of orders granting punitive damages amendments
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePritchard retired as Vice President of Facilities from Gold Coast Beverage Distributors in 2012 and received over one million dollars for his equity u…
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Petitioners1 seek certiorari relief from the trial court's order granting Respondent Wilbur Pritchard's ("Pritchard") motion to amend his complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages pursuant to section 768.72, Florida Statutes (2018). Because we find that the trial court applied the correct law and complied with the procedural requirements of section 768.72, we are compelled to deny the petition.
This case stems from Pritchard's retirement from Gold Coast, a Florida beer distributor. In May 2012, Pritchard, who was Gold Coast's Vice President of Facilities, notified Gold Coast of his intention to retire. Pritchard and Gold Coast executed a separation agreement in June 2012. While Pritchard worked for Gold Coast, he was granted units in an equity plan. Upon retirement, Pritchard was awarded over one million dollars for those units.
In 2014, Reyes Group, a national beer distributor, approached Gold Coast about an acquisition. Gold Coast had rejected earlier acquisition attempts in 2010 and 2012, but this time, the parties entered into an asset purchase agreement whereby a wholly owned subsidiary of Reyes would acquire Gold Coast. When Pritchard learned of the acquisition, he sued Gold Coast, other corporate defendants (Eran and GC Holdings), and individuals Stephen Levin and Alfonso Fernandez2 because they did not notify him of Reyes Group's acquisition attempts before he retired. He claims that he would not have retired had he known about the prior negotiations since his equity plan units would have been worth much more if he had remained.
In July 2017, Pritchard filed a motion to amend his complaint with a claim for punitive damages pursuant to section 768.72.3 The trial court held two hearings and ultimately granted Pritchard's motion to amend. Petitioners now seek to quash the *547trial court's order, alleging that the court failed to comply with the requirements of section 768.72.
Generally, certiorari relief is appropriate only if a petitioner establishes a departure from the essential requirements of the law resulting in material injury that cannot be remedied on appeal. See Robins v. Colombo, 253 So.3d 94, 95-96, 2018 WL 3747891 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug. 8, 2018) ; Nieves v. Viera, 150 So.3d 1236, 1238 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014). Because section 768.72 creates "a substantive legal right not to be subject to a punitive damages claim and ensuing financial worth discovery until the trial court makes a determination that there is a reasonable evidentiary basis for recovery of punitive damages ... a plenary appeal cannot restore a defendant's statutory right under section 768.72...." Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So.2d 518, 520 (Fla. 1995). We therefore have certiorari jurisdiction to review an order granting leave to amend a complaint to include punitive damages. Id. at 519 ; TRG Desert Inn Venture, Ltd. v. Berezovsky, 194 So.3d 516, 519 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) ; see also Williams v. Oken, 62 So.3d 1129, 1132 (Fla. 2011) (holding that material injury that cannot be remedied on appeal is a jurisdictional requirement that must be analyzed before considering whether the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law").
In determining whether the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law when it granted Pritchard's motion to amend, we must limit our review to whether the court complied with the procedural requirements of section 768.72. Globe, 658 So.2d at 520 ; Robins, 253 So.3d at 95-96 ; TRG Desert Inn Venture, 194 So.3d at 519 ; Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. v. Doe, 44 So.3d 230, 233 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010). Moreover, we are not permitted "to review the sufficiency of the evidence considered by the trial court in granting leave to amend the complaint to add a claim for punitive damages." Robins, 253 So.3d at 96 (quoting SAP Am., Inc. v. Royal Flowers, Inc., 187 So.3d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) ); see also Globe, 658 So.2d at 520. Finally, certiorari relief is only appropriate "when the record establishes that a trial court applied the incorrect law; certiorari relief is not available to remedy an incorrect application of the correct law." TRG Desert Inn Venture, 194 So.3d at 519.
Based on our review of the record below, we are unable to find that the trial court failed to comply with the procedural requirements of section 768.72. Pritchard's motion to amend contained a detailed table outlining the record evidence and sworn declarations that provided the basis for his punitive damages claim. Moreover, the trial court conducted two hearings on the motion and requested supplemental memoranda as to the evidentiary basis for punitive damages against the corporate defendants. Further, Petitioners presented their arguments against Pritchard's motion to amend in their written opposition, during both hearings, and in their response to Pritchard's court-ordered supplemental memorandum. It is also clear from the record that the trial court applied the correct law. The court, in its order granting the motion to amend, found-based on Pritchard's motion, the supplemental memoranda, and the arguments presented during the two hearings-that Pritchard "made the requisite showing by evidence in the record or proffered by plaintiff that would support a reasonable basis for recovery of punitive damages as required by Fla. Stat. § 768.72 against defendants ...."
*548Although we may disagree that there was sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable basis for Pritchard's punitive damages claim, our narrow standard and scope of review prevent us from quashing the trial court's order on that basis.4 We therefore deny the petition for writ of certiorari.
Petition denied.
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CAT CAY Yacht Club, Inc. v. Diaz, 264 So. 3d 1071 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)…-that [plaintiff] "made the requisite showing by evidence in the record or proffered by plaintiff that would support a reasonable basis for recovery of punitive damages as required by Fla. Stat. § 768.72 against defendants ...." Levin v. Pritchard, 258 So. 3d 545, 547-48 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018). (2) Legal Impediments Unaddressed by Diaz The trial court apparently did not consider during the hearing or address in its order the legal insufficiency issues raised by CCYC and the Director Defendants. Specifically, F…
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The Event Depot Corp. v. Frank, 269 So. 3d 559 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019)…late Court Rules Committee should consider amending Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130 to allow an appeal of an order deciding a motion for leave to add a claim for punitive damages. See Osechas, 44 Fla. L. Weekly at D389; Levin v. Pritchard, 258 So. 3d 545, 548 n.4 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018); Berezovsky, 194 So. 3d at 520 n.5. I share those concerns. Additionally, the cases limiting our certiorari jurisdiction in the context of an order allowing a party to add a claim for punitive damages derive from the…
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Life Care Ctrs. of Am., Inc. v. THE Est. of Bill Croft, SR., 299 So. 3d 588 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)…ng punitive damages claims to be added to pleadings. See, e.g., E.R. Truck & Equip. Corp. v. Gomont, No. 3D20-42, 2020 WL 1281021, at *1-2 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 18, 2020) (Scales, J., concurring and Gordo, J., concurring specially); Levin v. Pritchard, 258 So. 3d 545, 548 n.4 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018); TRG Desert Inn, 194 So. 3d at 520 n.5; see also Sapp v. Olivares, 288 So. 3d 714, 716 n.1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020) (noting that - 7 - "several appellate courts and individual judges have questioned the continued efficacy of…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Williams v. Keith Robinson Oken, M.D., 62 So. 3d 1129 (Fla. 2011)
- Globe Newspaper Co. v. King, 658 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1995)
- TRG Desert INN Venture, Ltd. v. Berezovsky, 194 So. 3d 516 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)
- Robins v. Colombo, 253 So. 3d 94 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
- Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. v. Jane DOE & Jane Doe, 44 So. 3d 230 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)
- Ramiro Nieves, M.D. v. Viera, 150 So. 3d 1236 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)
- SAP Am., Inc. v. Royal Flowers, Inc., 187 So. 3d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)