JESSIE JAMES MOORE, APPELLANT,
v.
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, APPELLEE
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This case concerns whether a plaintiff can claim exemplary damages when a telephone company wrongfully disconnects service. The court held that the plaintiff's allegations were insufficient to support a claim for exemplary damages.
No, the plaintiff's allegations are insufficient to support a claim for exemplary damages because they do not allege facts constituting fraud, malice, gross negligence, or oppression.
“In order to form the basis for exemplary damages, it is necessary to allege some general facts and circumstances constituting fraud, malice, gross negligence or oppression.”
This quote establishes the legal standard required for claiming exemplary damages in Florida.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe plaintiff, a former owner of a filling station, had his home phone service disconnected by Southern Bell. This occurred because the subsequent ope…
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This is an appeal from an Order striking a count for exemplary damages contained in the plaintiff’s third amended complaint in an action against Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, defendant.
The plaintiff alleged that he operated a filling station, sold the same, and said station was sold twice thereafter; that the subsequent operator of the filling station did not pay the telephone bill in the amount of $44.86, and services were discontinued," that the defendant telephone company charged the delinquent telephone bill of the filling station against the home phone of the plaintiff which he used in his business. Upon his failure to pay said charges the defendant discontinued the service of his home phone. The plaintiff alleged that the *559discontinuance of the service was “wrongful, wilful and without probable cause,” and that, therefore, he was entitled to exemplary damages.
In order to form the basis for exemplary damages, it is necessary to allege some general facts and circumstances constituting fraud, malice, gross negligence or oppression. Winn & Lovett Grocery Co. v. Archer, 1936, 126 Fla. 308, 171 So. 214. This case has been cited with approval in Thompson v. City of Jacksonville, Fla.App.1961, 130 So.2d 105. The allegations of the complaint are not sufficient to meet this test. Plaintiff having failed to state a cause of- action and declined to plead further, the court correctly granted the motion to strike the count for exemplary damages and entered judgment for the defendant.
Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
SHANNON, Acting C. J., and WARREN, LAMAR, Associate Judge, concur.
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Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Winn & Lovett Grocery Co. v. Archer, 126 Fla. 308 (Fla. 1936)
- Thompson v. City OF Jacksonville, 130 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961)