Estate of Despain v. Avante Group, Inc.

Estate of Despain v. Avante Group, Inc.

Opinion

 [*639]  SAWAYA, C.J.

The Estate of Beulah Despain appeals a final judgment rendered pursuant to a jury verdict awarding compensatory damages for violation of the decedent's rights as a nursing home resident under section 400.022, Florida Statutes (1999), negligence, and the decedent's wrongful death. Despain specifically appeals the order denying the personal representative's motion to amend the complaint to allege a claim for punitive damages against Avante Group, Inc. and Avante at Leesburg, Inc. The issue we must resolve is whether Despain made a sufficient showing by evidence in the record or proffer to establish a reasonable basis to plead a claim for punitive [**2]  damages pursuant to section 768.72(1), Florida Statutes (1999).

The decedent, eighty-one-year-old Beulah Despain, was admitted to a nursing home owned and operated by Avante Group, Inc. and Avante at Leesburg, Inc. on January 15, 1999. She was hospitalized on April 1, 1999, and died of respiratory arrest secondary to aspiration pneumonia on April 6, 1999. The personal representative of the estate filed suit for compensatory damages and subsequently filed a motion to amend the complaint to allege a claim for punitive damages. In a lengthy memorandum, the estate proffered the facts it asserted formed the reasonable basis for its claim of punitive damages and filed affidavits of witnesses. This motion was denied and a subsequent motion was filed. After once again considering the proffered facts and the record evidence, the trial court denied the subsequent motion and the case proceeded to trial, resulting in a verdict and judgment awarding compensatory damages to Despain.

In order to properly decide whether the requisite showing was made under section 768.72(1) to allow Despain's claim for punitive damages, we must first determine the correct standard that [**3]  establishes whether misconduct is so egregious as to warrant an award of punitive damages. Next, we must determine the appropriate standard of review that will guide us in our application of the legal standard to the record evidence and the proffer presented by Despain so we can decide whether it is sufficient to establish a reasonable basis to plead a claim for punitive damages. Once these two standards are determined, we can resolve the issue on appeal and arrive at a conclusion.

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