TORTS: SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY: CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WERE NOT ENTITLED TO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY FOR WILLFUL DESTRUCTION OF INMATE’S PROPERTY

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Allen v. Frazier, ___ So. 3d ___, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D313 (Fla. 1st DCA February 17, 2014)

The plaintiff, a prison inmate, alleged that the defendants, correctional officers, accused the inmates in his wing of intentionally flooding their cells by causing the toilets to overflow and retaliated by entering the cells and destroying the inmates’ property.  The plaintiff … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

TORTS: MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE; CIVIL PROCEDURE: SANCTIONS: DISMISSAL: FRAUD ON THE COURT

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Bosque v. Rivera, ___ So. 3d ___, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D302 (Fla. 5th DCA February 7, 2014)

The plaintiff sued to recover damages for personal injuries that he received in a motor vehicle accident in 2010.  The trial court dismissed his case for fraud on the court for failing to disclose that he had been involved in a … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

TORTS: LEGAL MALPRACTICE: FRAUD: CONSTRUCTIVE FRAUD: CIVIL CONSPIRACY: CONSPIRACY BETWEEN PLAINTIFF AND DEFENSE FIRM TO DEPRIVE DEFENDANT OF AN EFFECTIVE DEFENSE CONSTITUTED EXTRINSIC, RATHER THAN INTRINSIC, FRAUD AND WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE ONE YEAR LIMITATION IN FLA. R. CIV. P. 1.540

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Olesen v. General Electric Capital Corporation, ___ So. 3d ___, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D303 (Fla. 5th DCA February 7, 2014)

The plaintiff was the owner of a company that leased busses and then sold or subleased them.  In order to fund the company’s operations, the plaintiff agreed to serve as the guarantor of a multimillion line of credit … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

SCHOOLS: TORTS: NEGLIGENCE: ATTACK ON FELLOW STUDENT BY SIXTH GRADER WITH HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION IS AN ACCEPTED THEORY OF LIABILITY AGAINST A SCHOOL BOARD; EVIDENCE: NO ERROR IN EXCLUDING ATTENUATED TESTIMONY BASED ON STACKED INFERENCES; APPEALS: PRESERVATION: UNNECESSARY TO DECIDE WHETHER SCHOOL BOARD’S ENFORCEMENT OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION WAS A DISCRETIONARY FUNCTION FOR WHICH IT HAD SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY BECAUSE SCHOOL BOARD WAS FOUND LIABLE ON AN UNCONTESTED, ALTERNATIVE THEORY OF LIABILITY: TRIAL COURT DID NOT COMMIT FUNDAMENTAL ERROR BY ADMITTING STUDENT ASSAILANT’S HISTORY OF BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS

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Duval County School Board v. Buchanan, ___ So. 3d ___, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D313 (Fla. 1st DCA February 7, 2014)

A sixth grader with a history of violence attacked another student on the school playground and broke her leg.  The assailant was supposed to be serving in-school suspension on the day of the accident and should not have … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...

JURISDICTION: SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION: AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY: ACTION TO FORECLOSE SECURITY INTEREST IN PERSONAL PROPERTY IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE: COUNTY COURTS AND CIRCUIT COURTS HAVE CONCURRENT JURISDICTION OVER EQUITABLE ACTIONS IN WHICH THE AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY DOES NOT EXCEED $15,000: CIRCUIT COURTS HAVE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER EQUITABLE ACTIONS IN WHICH THE AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY EXCEEDS $15,000: STATUTORY REPLEVIN IS A LEGAL ACTION: ACTION FOR STATUTORY REPLEVIN IN WHICH THE AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY DOES NOT EXCEED $15,000 MAY BE BROUGHT IN CIRCUIT COURT IF IT IS COMBINED WITH AN ACTION TO FORECLOSE A SECURITY INTEREST IN PERSONAL PROPERTY

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Johnson v. American First Federal, Inc., ___ So. 3d ___, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D316 (Fla. 1st DCA February 7, 2014)

The plaintiff filed an action in circuit court “seeking replevin of, and to foreclose its security interest in a [truck], which was alleged to have a value of less than $15,000.”  The plaintiff prevailed on summary judgment and … Click To Read Full Case Law Review...