Willis v. Gami Golden Glades, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida held that the impact rule did not bar Marjorie Willis's claim for emotional distress because the alleged assailant physically touched her with a gun and patted down her body. The court answered the first certified question affirmatively, quashed the Third District's decision, disapproved Ruttger Hotel Corp. v. Wagner, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The plaintiff's claim satisfied Florida's impact requirement because the assailant placed a gun against her temple and physically touched her body during the pat-down. When an impact or touching has occurred, Florida's impact rule does not bar a claim for emotional-distress damages, regardless of the absence of a separate visible physical injury.
2. The Third District's decision affirming summary judgment was quashed, and Ruttger Hotel Corp. v. Wagner was disapproved to the extent it applied the impact rule to bar recovery despite physical contact.

Questions Presented

1. Whether physical contact from a pistol placed against the plaintiff's head and the assailant's pat-down of her body constituted sufficient impact under Florida's impact rule.
2. Whether the plaintiff's alleged assault and batteries independently satisfied a free-standing-tort exception to the impact rule.
3. Whether the innkeeper-guest relationship constituted a special-relationship exception to the impact rule.
4. Whether Florida's impact rule should be abolished.

Disposition

quashed