A mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has led to outpouring of grief as well as student-led protest for gun control. March 27, 2018. Photo: Janos Rautonen/Shutterstock.com

Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal Wednesday certified a question that reflects an unfortunate reality: potential litigation fallout after mass shootings and other tragedies.

The court is weighing public agency exposure to damages if the government waives its sovereign immunity protections in cases of mass injury or deaths. The case hinges on whether the Florida Department of Children and Families and other public agencies failed to protect an 11-year-old boy, Javon Xavier Nelson, killed by his stepfather.

The appellate court had narrowly construed a Florida statute, which governs public agency protection in tort actions, to limit the sovereign immunity waiver to $200,000 in cases where the same negligent act by a state agency results in multiple claims.

But ruling on a motion to certify to the Florida Supreme Court a question with statewide implications, Fourth DCA Judges Martha C. Warner, Melanie G. May and Alan O. Forst noted a spike in claims against government agencies, based on “a number of high-profile mass shootings in the past several years.”

“We acknowledge that a broader reading of the statute could allow a per-injury limitation,” the judicial panel wrote in its unsigned opinion. “Because this issue may continue to arise in the context of mass shootings and other mass injury events, we certify the following question as one of great public importance.”

The question asks:

“When multiple claims of injury or death arise from the same act of negligence committed by a state agency or actor, does the limitation by a waiver of sovereign immunity in Section 768.28(5), Florida Statutes, cap the liability of state agencies at $200,000 for all resulting injuries or deaths, as claims and judgments 'arising out the same incident or occurrence?' ”

The high court has discretion on whether to accept the issue for further review.

Florida has grabbed international headlines after multiple mass shootings, including the 2016 massacre at The Pulse nightclub, where gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured at least 50 others, and the 2018 attack that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

 

Related stories:

Orlando Shooting Spawns Negligent-Security Queries

Stoneman Douglas Victims File New Federal Lawsuit Over Mass Shooting in Parkland