Austin v. Mylander
| Decision Date | 21 August 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-636,97-636 |
| Citation | 717 So.2d 1073 |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D1948 Ruth AUSTIN, Appellant, v. Thomas A. MYLANDER, etc., Appellee. |
Kennedy Legler, III, and Edward M. Murphy, of Legler & Flynn, P.A., Bradenton, for Appellant.
John W. Jolly, Jr., and Carl R. Peterson, Jr., of Skelding, Labasky, Corry, Eastman, Hauser, Jolly & Metz, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellee.
Ruth Austin appeals a final summary judgment in favor of Thomas A. Mylander, Sheriff of Hernando County. We affirm.
Deputy Sheriff Baptiste, dispatched to respond to a domestic dispute call, found that Dewayne Bramblett, the person complained about, was then at another residence. Baptiste went to the other residence and was informed by its occupant that Bramblett's presence was not wanted. According to Baptiste's affidavit, he determined that there were no outstanding warrants on Bramblett, and gave Bramblett a trespass warning. At some point, the sheriff apparently became aware that Bramblett was a convicted felon. Eventually, Baptiste had the sheriff's dispatcher call for a taxi 1 to take Bramblett to his own residence. Baptiste stated in his affidavit that he had the taxi summoned because Bramblett had been drinking, and because there was a flat tire on Bramblett's vehicle. Baptiste did not believe he had probable cause to arrest Bramblett. When the taxi, driven by Roger Austin, arrived at the scene, Baptiste supervised the transfer of advance payment for the ride from Bramblett to Austin.
Later, the taxi company's dispatcher called the sheriff's dispatcher, stating that he had received a call from Austin, who indicated that there was an emergency and that the passenger had taken his keys. The taxi dispatcher stated that he was unable to regain contact with Austin. Deputies began a search, and, it appears from the record, eventually found the taxi and Austin at Bramblett's residence. Austin had been stabbed to death. Bramblett, convicted of murder, testified in his deposition essentially that he and Austin had had a dispute about the fare, and that he killed Austin in self-defense with Austin's knife.
The plaintiff, Austin's wife, sued the sheriff for wrongful death, alleging that the sheriff knew that Bramblett was a convicted felon with a history of violence, that he was extremely intoxicated, that he had been exhibiting violent behavior, and that he was possibly armed. The plaintiff alleged that the sheriff knew or should have known that Bramblett was a dangerous and violent suspect, but negligently placed him in Austin's taxi without searching him and without taking any precautions for Austin's safety. The plaintiff alleged that the sheriff had a duty not to place Austin in a dangerous situation, and that the sheriff breached his duty by placing a dangerous suspect in Austin's taxi.
The sheriff moved for summary judgment before the completion of discovery, and the court granted the motion based on its determination that there were no material facts in dispute. In entering summary judgment for the sheriff, the court recognized that it was a matter of dispute whether the sheriff had reason to believe that Bramblett would become violent, but the court ruled that this factual issue was immaterial. Noting that the sheriff had not promised Austin protection, and that Austin had not been in the sheriff's custody, the court ruled that the sheriff did not breach any common law duty owed to Austin. The court further ruled that even if the sheriff had a common law duty to Austin, the sheriff was entitled to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Storm v. Town of Ponce Inlet
...approach. See Henderson v. Bowden, 737 So.2d 532 (Fla.1999); Vann v. Dept. of Corrections, 662 So.2d 339 (Fla.1995); Austin v. Mylander, 717 So.2d 1073 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), rev. denied, 729 So.2d 389 (Fla. 1999); Sams v. Oelrich, 717 So.2d 1044 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. denied, 725 So.2d 1109 (F......
-
Manfre v. Shinkle
...individual, as opposed to the general public, under similar circumstances." (citing Pollock, 882 So.2d at 931 )); Austin v. Mylander, 717 So.2d 1073, 1075 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) ("A governmental duty to protect its citizens is a general duty to the public as a whole, and where there is only a ......
- Austin v. Mylander
-
Governmental tort liability in Florida; a tangled web.
...Third District Court of Appeal in Seguine v. City of Miami, 627 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993), the Fifth District in Austin v. Mylander, 717 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), and the First District in Sams v. Oelrich, 717 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 1st D.C.A. 1998) all recognize and apply the public d......
-
Florida's public duty doctrine.
...717 So. 2d 1044,1047 (Fla. 1st D.C.A. 1998); Seguine v. City of Miami, 627 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 3d D.C.A. 1993); and Austin v. Mylander, 717 So. 2d 1073, 1075 (Fla. 5th D.C.A. (17) Smith v. City of Plantation, 19 F. Supp. 2d 1323, 1331 (S.D. Fla. 1998), and City of St. Petersburg v. Lewis, 98 F.......