TORTS--PUNITIVE DAMAGES--AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS TO ALLEGE CLAIM FOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES--REASONABLE BASIS--SUFFICIENCY OF PROFFER. Section 768.72(1) provides that "[i]n any civil action, 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." A trial court applying the statute should consider only evidence identified or proffered by the claimant and should not consider an evidentiary counter-submission from an opposing party. The test for deciding the evidentiary sufficiency under this statute is whether a reasonable person could conclude, based on the claimant's evidence, that defendant committed "intentional misconduct" or "gross negligence," as defined in section 768.72(2). If a claimant seeks to plead a punitive damages claim against an employer under a theory of vicarious liability, the evidentiary sufficiency test must also ask whether a reasonable person could conclude that the claimant's evidence satisfies the substantive legal criteria set out in section 768.72(3). Finally, a trial court must review a request for punitive damages in the context of the underlying claims. "[I]n reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence under section 768.72(1) at the pleading stage, the trial court should not apply the clear and convincing evidence standard of proof," but must consider the record evidence and the proffered evidence in the light most favorable to the claimant. The Court's opinion includes an extensive discussion of section 768.72(1) and of the relationship between the subsections of section 768.72.
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FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE--AMENDMENT. The Court adopted amendments to rules 9.210 (Briefs), 9.310 (Stay Pending Review), 9.800 (Uniform Citation System), and 9.900 (Forms). Among other changes, the Court added a new subdivision(b)(3) to rule 9.210 to require inclusion of a jurisdictional statement in the initial brief and rephrased the now-renumbered subdivision (b)(9) to clarify that a certificate of compliance is only required for computer-generated briefs.
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FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE--AMENDMENT. The Court adopted amendments to Rule 8.203 (Application of Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) and 8.330 (Adjudicatory Hearings).
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