Procedure for Seeking Punitive Damages

The recent appellate opinion in Werner Enterprises, Inc. v. Mendez, 48 Fla.L,Weekly D1121A (Fla. 5th DCA 2023) discusses the PROCEDURE for a party moving to amend their complaint to add punitive damages. In this case, the plaintiff appealed the trial court’s denial of the plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend to add punitive damages. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s denial and, in doing so, includes this worthy discussion on the procedure associated with moving to amend a complaint to seek punitive damages: Florida law requires the plaintiff to seek the trial court's permission before adding punitive damages to its complaint....

02 October

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Oops! I Sued the Wrong Party and Need to Amend the Complaint AFTER the Expiration of the Statute of Limitations

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

If you incorrectly sue the wrong party and need to amend to substitute the correct party after the statute of limitations, there is an argument the amendment will relate back to the timely filing of the initial complaint. This means, with the relation back of the amended complaint to the initial complaint, that the amended complaint was timely filed and the expiration of the statute of limitations does not apply. In Friedel v. Edwards, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D2125a (Fla. 2d DCA 2021), a plaintiff sued a defendant stemming from a car accident. However, the defendant had died so the plaintiff moved to...

05 October

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Amended Complaints and the “Relation Back” Doctrine

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Trial Perspectives

There is a doctrine known as the “relation back” doctrine that refers to amended complaints and the statute of limitations. Assume an original complaint was filed within the applicable statute of limitations. Assume after the statute of limitations expired, an amended complaint is asserted with new claims. Do the new claims in the amended complaint RELATE BACK to the original complaint so that the new claims are deemed filed within the statute of limitations? The recent opinion in Mitchell v. Applebee’s Services, Inc., 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2443a (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) explains Florida’s liberal policy in answering this question: Whether...