Doe v. Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.
Doe v. Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Jane Doe appeals a final judgment entered in favor of the appellees. The trial court granted summary judgment against Jane Doe on her counts for false light and unauthorized publication of name or likeness. After a five-day trial on her remaining counts for invasion of privacy and negligent retention and supervision, the trial court entered a directed verdict. On appeal, Jane Doe raises several issues. We find merit only in her claim that the trial court erred in directing a verdict on the invasion of privacy count. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for a new trial on the invasion of privacy count. We affirm in all other respects.
The appellees own and operate the radio station of WRXK in Fort Myers. During the time at issue, the appellees employed an on-air radio personality and disc jockey, whom Jane Doe dated on- and off-again for approximately twenty years. They had a daughter together. In- the month of May 2005, around the time of the couple’s last break-up, the disc jockey disparaged Jane Doe in numerous on-air broadcasts. Jane Doe then commenced this action against the appellees on May 27, 2005.
Trial commenced in May 2011 on Jane Doe’s counts for invasion of privacy and
On appeal, Jane Doe argues that the trial court erred in entering the directed verdict on the issue of damages. She contends that the trial court improperly applied breach of contract case law and that her claim for invasion of privacy is instead controlled by Cason v. Baskin, 155 Fla. 198, 20 So.2d 243 (1944). We agree.
In ruling that Jane Doe had the burden to prove her damages in a definite amount, the trial court cited our opinion in Schimpf v. Reger, 691 So.2d 579 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). In Schimpf, we held that “[i]t is incumbent upon the party seeking damages to present evidence to justify an award of damages in a definite amount.” Id. at 580. But Schimpf is inapplicable because it is a breach of contract case which was concerned only with economic losses and not with the duty owed to an injured party. See generally Casa Clara Condo. Ass’n v. Charley Toppino & Sons, Inc., 620 So.2d 1244, 1246 (Fla. 1993) (“[Ejconomic losses are ‘disappointed economic expectations,’ which are protected by contract law, rather than tort law. This is the basic difference between contract law, which protects expectations, and tort law, which is determined by the duty owed to an injured party.” (citations omitted)); Facchina v. Mut. Benefits Corp., 735 So.2d 499 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (analyzing the economic loss rule and how it applies to tort actions, including invasion of privacy claims).
The seminal invasion of privacy case in Florida is Cason, 155 Fla. 198, 20 So.2d 243. In Cason, the supreme court reversed a judgment entered in favor of the defendants on an invasion of privacy claim.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
. The trial court sustained the defendants’ demurrers to the plaintiff’s complaint before entering judgment for the defendants. A "demurrer” is a pleading that is known in most jurisdictions today as a motion to dismiss. See Black's Law Dictionary 465 (8th ed. 2004).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.