ANSEL BLANTON, APPELLANT,
v.
DOROTHY BLANTON, INDIVIDUALLY, UNITED STATES FIDELITY & GUARANTY COMPANY, A FOREIGN CORPORATION, LICENSED TO DO BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEES
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The doctrine of interspousal immunity bars a direct tort action between spouses.
An appellant brought an action against his wife for damages arising from her alleged negligent operation of an automobile. The trial court dismissed t…
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ANSTEAD, Judge.
The appellant, Ansel Blanton, brought an action against his wife, Dorothy Blanton, and her insurance carrier, United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, for damages arising out of the wife’s alleged negligent operation of an automobile. The trial court dismissed the action under the doctrine of interspousal immunity. We affirm.
This court and the Florida Supreme Court have recently ruled that the doctrine of interspousal immunity will not bar an action by a third party against a claimant’s spouse under the uniform contribution among joint tortfeasors act. Shor v. Paoli, 353 So. 2d 825 (Opinion filed November 17, 1977); Paoli v. Shor, 345 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). We held there at page 790:
To say that Shor doesn’t have to contribute and account for her wrongdoing would be unfair to Paoli and a windfall to Shor. This is not a case where the husband sued the wife on account of her negligence so we are not doing any real damage to the doctrine. This is a case where the joint tortfeasor sued the joint tortfeasor and we are ruling in support of that statute.
In Paoli we recognized the viability of the interspousal immunity doctrine. The Supreme Court, in approving our decision, apparently also recognized the continued existence of the doctrine. The doctrine is still alive and well in Florida, and it bars a direct tort action between spouses. The trial court was correct in dismissing the action, and the order of dismissal is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
DOWNEY and LETTS, JJ., concur.
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Raisen v. Raisen, 379 So. 2d 352 (Fla. 1979)…by.a number of recent [*355] decisions of the district courts of appeal. Vinci v. Gensler, 269 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972); Mims v. Mims, 305 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974); Heaton v. Heaton, 304 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); Blanton v. Blanton, 354 So. 2d 430 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Horton v. Unigard Insurance Co., 355 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), cert. dismissed, 373 So. 2d 459 (Fla.1979). There is a reciprocal and often antagonistic relationship between promotion of peace and harmony in the marital re…
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Horton v. Unigard INS., 355 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)…rine of inter-spousal immunity.. Because of the doubts which seem to have been engendered by some recent decisions, we recently held in the case of Blanton v. Blanton, Opinion filed January 24, 1978, Fourth District Court of Appeal Case No. 76-2678, 354 So. 2d 430, that the doctrine of interspousal immunity is alive and well in this jurisdiction. Having established that the doctrine is still viable we must decide whether there is something unique about a wrongful death action which would exempt such an action…
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3-M Elec. Corp. v. Vigoa, 369 So. 2d 405 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…pipe was inexplicably left in the ground. . Paoli v. Shor, 345 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). . Mieure v. Moore, 330 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976). .In fact, the interspousal immunity doctrine clearly remains viable as well. Blanton v. Blanton, 354 So. 2d 430 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). Related matter, see, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company v. Thompson Aircraft Tire Corporation, 353 So. 2d 137 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company v. Smith, 359 So. 2d 427 (Fla.1978), dealing with the conce…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Shor v. Paoli, 353 So. 2d 825 (Fla. 1977)
- Paoli v. Shor, 345 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)