In Marshall Milton Corp v. Petit-Homme, No. 3D24-762, 2025 WL 1819149 (Fla. 3d DCA July 2, 2025), Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal had the opportunity revisit when a trial court can grant a plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages. In Florida, this is done by statute. Pursuant to section 768.72(1), Florida Statutes (2023), “no claim for punitive damages shall be permitted unless there is a reasonable showing by evidence in the record or proffered by the claimant which would provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such damages.” Section 768.72 “requires the trial court to act as a gatekeeper,” which means that the trial court cannot “simply accept[ ] the allegations in a complaint or motion to amend as true.” Napleton's N. Palm Auto Park, Inc. v. Agosto, 364 So. 3d 1103, 1105 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023) (quoting Bistline v. Rogers, 215 So. 3d 607, 610–11 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)).
The trial court allowed the plaintiff in the case to amend his complaint to assert punitive damages. However, the appellate court, reviewing that grant de novo, found there was insufficient evidence in the record showing willful, callous, or egregious conduct by defendant in investigating plaintiff's claim and terminating his maintenance and cure benefits. The appellate court set out the factors used to determine whether punitive damages are warranted in maintenance and cure cases and include: 1) the shipowner’s laxness in investigating claim; 2) the termination of benefits in response to seaman's retention of counsel or refusal of settlement offer; and 3) the shipowner’s failure to reinstate benefits after diagnosis of ailment previously not determined medically. After reviewing the evidence proffered, the appellate court found the evidence was insufficient to support plaintiff's claim that his benefits were wrongfully terminated after he retained counsel and declined a settlement offer. The court also found that the plaintiff could not claim that defendant showed laxness by refusing to investigate the impact of injury to plaintiff's index finger where defendant relied on physician's testimony that injury was “remarkably benign” and that potential impairment rating for index finger was five percent . The court also noted that the remaining factor was not at issue in plaintiff's case and thus, reversed the trial court and remanded for further proceedings.
This court again sets out the requirements for trial courts to test the plaintiff’s allegations before granting a motion to amend to assert a claim for punitive damages. This requires the seafarer to provide reasonable evidence of willful, callous, or egregious conduct by the shipowner.
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