McCumber Daniels’ Attorney E. Patrick Buntz Successfully Argues in Opposition to Punitive Damages in Florida Nursing Home Case

On February 6, 2008, McCumber Daniels' attorney E. Patrick Buntz successfully argued against Wilkes & McHugh, P.A.’s attempt to seek punitive damages against several nursing home corporations, a former nursing home administrator, and a former director of nursing. The Court announced its ruling denying Wilkes & McHugh’s attempt on February 11, 2008. The case stems from allegations that the defendants violated provisions of Chapter 400 of the Florida Statutes including violation of several of the plaintiff’s resident rights.

The Court ultimately agreed with Mr. Buntz’s argument that allowing a plaintiff to amend the complaint to add a claim for punitive damages is an important decision for which the Court should not approach cavalierly. Mr. Buntz argued that in order to allow plaintiff to seek punitive damages there must be concrete evidence within the four corners of the plaintiff’s proffer that indicates that the defendant’s actions were willful, careless, or with conscious disregard to the consequences.

The Court held that its job regarding punitive damages is to perform a “gate-keeping function.” This “gating-keeping” ensures that defendants are not needlessly subjected to public disclosure of their financial worth during punitive damages discovery and wrongfully exposed to multi-million dollar jury verdicts. The Court explained that Wilkes & McHugh simply proffered sworn statements of experts who testified that the defendant’s actions were outrageous and egregious enough to sustain punitive damages. Mr. Buntz argued and the Court agreed that the Florida State Legislature did not intend for that to be the end of the Court’s inquiry. The Court went on to hold that the record must show that the defendant’s actions evidence a reckless disregard for human life that goes beyond all bounds of decency. The Honorable Judge Roger A. Alcott of the Tenth Judicial Circuit presided over the matter.

McCumber Daniels is a litigation defense firm with offices in Tampa, Florida and Eagleville, Pennsylvania, which is just outside the City of Philadelphia. The Firm’s practice areas include litigation involving nursing homes and assisted living facilities; hospitals, clinics and health care institutions; medical malpractice defense; health administrative law; insurance and insurers; general civil and commercial litigation; and appellate practice.