N & B CORP., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, D/B/A STRATH HAVEN HOTEL, APPELLANT,
v.
EDNA HUGHES AND HERBERT HUGHES, HER HUSBAND, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
This case concerns whether an employer is liable for an assault committed by an employee on a private beach. The court affirmed a jury verdict, finding the employer liable because the employee had apparent authority to police the beach and deal with trespassers.
Yes, the jury could reasonably find the assault was within the scope of employment because the employee had apparent authority to police the beach and handle individuals violating the employer's property.
“The only substantial question presented on this appeal is whether the assault of the employee in this case could have been found by the jury upon a reasonable view of the evidence to have been within the scope of the agent's employment.”
This quote states the central legal question the appellate court had to decide.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA wife, a plaintiff, was assaulted by an employee of the defendant hotel (the "beach boy") when she entered the hotel's private beach. The beach boy w…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Assault cases and more on FLexlaw
Appellee, wife, was assaulted by appellant’s “beach boy” when she went onto appellant’s “private beach”. The beach boy was appellant’s employee and had custody of the beach area. The appellee, wife, as plaintiff, received a jury verdict for $2,000 compensatory damages and $6,000 punitive damages against the defendant. The appel-lee, husband, received a verdict for $50. A final judgment was entered on the verdicts and this appeal followed.
The only substantial question presented on this appeal is whether the assault of the employee in this case could have been found by the jury upon a reasonable view of the evidence to have been within the scope of the agent’s employment.
We find that there is evidence in the record to support the verdict for both compensatory and punitive damages inasmuch as the beach boy was given apparent authority to police the beach area and full authority to deal with those persons who violated the appellant’s property. Therefore, the judgment is affirmed upon authority of Weiss v. Jacobson, Fla.1953, 62 So.2d 904; Fouts v. Household Finance Corporation, Fla.1954, 75 So.2d 772; Columbia By the Sea, Inc. v. Petty, Fla.App.1963, 157 So.2d 190.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Columbia BY THE SEA, Inc. v. Petty, 157 So. 2d 190 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Weiss v. Jacobson, 62 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 1953)
- Fouts v. Household Fin. Corp., 75 So. 2d 772 (Fla. 1954)