Valladares v. Bank of Am. Corp.

• Decision Date: 02 June 2016
• Docket Number: No. SC14–1629.,SC14–1629.
• Citation: 197 So.3d 1
• Parties: Rodolfo VALLADARES, Petitioner, v. BANK OF AMERICA CORP., etc., Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

197 So.3d 1

Rodolfo VALLADARES, Petitioner,

v.BANK OF AMERICA CORP., etc., Respondent.

No. SC14–1629.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 2, 2016.

Joel Stephen Perwin of Joel S. Perwin, P.A., Miami, FL; and Mark Gabriel DiCowden of Mark G. DiCowden, P.A., Aventura, FL, for Petitioner.

Adam Matthew Topel, J. Randolph Liebler, and Tricia Julie Duthiers of Liebler, Gonzalez & Portuondo, Miami, FL, for Respondent.

LEWIS, J.

This case is before the Court to review the decision of the Third District Court of Appeal in Bank of America Corp. v. Valladares, 141 So.3d 714, 715 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014). This case concerns a falsely reported robbery that resulted in injuries to Petitioner Rodolfo Valladares. The issue we must address today is whether those who falsely report criminal conduct to law enforcement have a privilege or immunity from civil liability for the false report. This issue implicates both police officer and citizen safety concerns. Valladares asserts that the decision of the Third District Court of Appeal expressly and directly conflicts with Pokorny v. First Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n of Largo, 382 So.2d 678 (Fla.1980). Further, the district court decision expressly disagreed with and rejected the decision in Harris v. Lewis State Bank, 482 So.2d 1378 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). We conclude that the decision below is in conflict with both Pokorny and Harris. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We hold that a cause of action is available to one injured as a result of a false report of criminal behavior to law enforcement when the report is made by a party which has knowledge or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have knowledge that the accusations are false or acts in a gross or flagrant manner in reckless disregard of the rights of the party exposed, or acts with indifference or wantonness or recklessness equivalent to punitive conduct.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Falsely Reported Robbery

On the morning of July 3, 2008, an e-mail was circulated in the Williams Island branch of Bank of America that advised staff to be on the lookout for a bank robber. The e-mail included several photos of a white male wearing a Miami Heat baseball cap, a T-shirt, and sunglasses.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. that same day, Rodolfo “Rudy” Valladares walked into his local Bank of America with the intent to cash a $100 check. Valladares, a Hispanic male, wore a loose-fitting athletic shirt, gym pants, a black Miami Heat baseball cap, and dark sunglasses. Although sunglasses and Miami Heat attire are not at all uncommon, nor are they significantly descriptive in South Florida, Meylin Garcia believed that Valladares, a Bank of America customer, was the bank robber depicted in the morning e-mail as soon as he entered the bank. At the time, she did not have possession of the e-mail to compare the robber's photos with Valladares's appearance, and the bank had not provided copies of the photos for the tellers' desks. As Valladares approached her desk, without any suspicious conduct, Garcia pushed the silent alarm.

Failure to Correct the Alarm

Valladares reached Garcia's desk and properly presented her with his check and driver's license. Specifically, the check was a Bank of America check with Valladares's name on it, for which there was absolutely no suspicion. The name on the check matched the name on his driver's license, for which there was also no suspicion. Yet, Garcia still failed to do anything to cancel the robbery alarm. When asked why she did not do anything to cancel the alarm after being presented with the matching check and license, Garcia testified:

I honestly thought that he was a bank robber at that moment as soon as he walked in.... I had it set in my mind according to the description I had seen that morning about the e-mail. As soon as Mr. Valladares walked in the bank, I saw him, and since he was wearing a Miami Heat hat, the sunglasses—I mean I saw him, and automatically I panicked, I got scared.

After accepting the license and the check, Garcia excused herself and informed Valladares that she would return shortly. Valladares had hoped to complete the transaction without delay because he had $400 worth of food in his car in preparation for a Fourth of July family barbecue the next day.

As these events were occurring, assistant manager trainee Jimmy Alor received a call from corporate security, which asked him to verify the basis for the silent alarm that had been activated from Garcia's teller station. Unaware of any emergency, Alor scanned the area and saw that Garcia had left her desk to speak with another bank employee. He approached them and asked about the silent alarm that had been triggered. Notwithstanding that Garcia already had ample opportunity to examine Valladares's face, check, and driver's license, and that no hint of a robbery was presented, and Alor had ample time to know the true facts, Garcia replied, “the robber is at my window.” Alor did not make any inquiry or take any steps to confirm that Valladares was or was not in fact an armed bank robber or a customer because he simply assumed from her body language that she perceived a threat. Alor made only a quick glance toward Garcia's window and saw no suspicious conduct, but he did not attempt to gather or develop any further information. Alor walked back to his desk and, without any confirmation or verification, simply repeated Garcia's words to the corporate security caller: the robber is at her window. When asked by corporate security if the suspect was armed, Alor responded that he had no idea but he had not seen any type of weapon. Alor then returned to his duties and simply acted as if there were no emergency and ignored what was happening in his bank.

Garcia returned to her position with Valladares. Valladares proceeded to make conversation with Garcia, asking her if she had plans for the Fourth of July holiday, and even invited her to his family barbecue. She replied that she had a boyfriend, to which he responded, “he's welcome to come too.” She then studied his license again and looked at Valladares, but still failed to differentiate Valladares's Hispanic characteristics from those of the white male depicted in the e-mail she had seen earlier that day and failed to take any steps to report the innocent transactional facts. Garcia asked Valladares to endorse the check, and handed Valladares a pen.

Garcia left her desk again, with Valladares's check and license in hand, to present them to her manager, Bianca Mercado. In an attempt to further stall the transaction, Garcia returned to her desk and informed Valladares that she could not cash the check because the computers were down. Valladares was confused, as it was apparent that other transactions were still taking place at the bank. He asked to see the manager. When Mercado arrived, Valladares said, “What seems to be the problem? It's just a $100 check, on a Bank of America check. Look at my driver's license.” As yet another ruse to confuse Valladares, Mercado replied that they could not cash his check because it was endorsed in the wrong colored ink. Mercado added that he had to leave the bank immediately. Valladares, understandably, became irritated with the employees' strange and rude behavior. He expressed that he could not believe he was being thrown out of the bank on these grounds, but turned around and started to leave. Approximately fifteen to twenty minutes had elapsed from the time Valladares first presented his check to his attempted exit. Absolutely nothing had occurred, suspicious or otherwise, during the entire time to suggest or hint that Valladares was anything other than a regular bank customer conducting normal banking business.

Garcia confirmed that during the entirety of Valladares's interaction with bank employees, he did not make any threats, present a note, make a demand, or appear in any way to be armed or have a criminal intent. She conceded that Valladares did nothing to elicit any suspicion that he intended to rob the bank or engage in any unlawful behavior. Garcia even agreed that Valladares was very nice to her during their interaction. Garcia simply attempted to insist that at no point during the incident did she doubt that Valladares was the bank robber, notwithstanding all of the facts to the contrary.

As Valladares attempted to exit the bank, he saw a team of police officers armed with heavy weapons emerging from multiple sides of the building. The team was led by Officer Sean Bergert, who was the only SWAT member among the officers present. Upon arrival, Bergert realized the other non-SWAT officers had created a “fatal funnel,” meaning that they were taking cover behind the glass windows of the building, which provides a dangerously false sense of security. Bergert decided to take charge and had several officers line up with him to enter the bank. Notwithstanding that multiple bank employees had been presented with the valid check and matching proper license only moments earlier, Mercado and the other bank employees not only failed to take any action to intervene when the police stormed inside the bank, but Mercado even went a step further and pointed to Valladares, signaling him as the robber. Bergert instructed everyone to lie on the floor with their hands extended. Everyone in the bank, including Valladares, complied with the command.

Valladares testified that he immediately went to the floor as ordered and outstretched his hands, with his license and check still in hand. Then, a police officer placed his boot on the back of Valladares's head, handcuffed him, and screamed at him, “Where's the weapon?”. Valladares further testified that the police officer kicked him in the head while he was already handcuffed:

[The police officer] started kicking me handcuffed on the floor.... He kicked me on the side of the head. You know, they were lifting me up by my hands ... and sticking their hands all through my shirt and everything, asking me, Why

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