PUNITIVE DAMAGES NOT AVAILABLE IN MAINTENANCE AND CURE ACTIONS. ISSUE CERTIFIED TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT BASED ON CONFLICT WITH THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL.
PAUL GARY NURKIEWICZ, Appellant, v. VACATION BREAK U.S.A.,INC., RESORT YACHTS OF AMERICA, INC., and SERENITY YACHT CLUB, INC., Appellees.
Case No. 4D99-3198
COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, FOURTH DISTRICT
2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 15234
November 22, 2000, Opinion Filed
OVERVIEW: Plaintiff captain of sport boat was loading sodas onto the boat. As plaintiff was loading the 24 can cases, two at a time, into a hatch in the galley floor, he injured his back. Plaintiff alleged unseaworthiness and negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. § 688, as defendant owners had not trained him to load heavy objects without injuring his back, given him a belt to protect his back, and made storage space more accessible. The trial court granted summary judgment to defendants. The appellate court found there was no negligence or unseaworthiness as a matter of law . Plaintiff was barred from recovery for negligence or unseaworthiness as the injury was entirely his fault. The trial court erred in entering summary judgment on the claim for maintenance and cure as claimed medical expenses were palliative rather than curative, but punitive damages were not recoverable in the claim.
OUTCOME: Order was affirmed as to negligence and unseaworthiness, but reversed and remanded for further proceedings with regard to the claim for maintenance and cure.
After reading the fifth circuit's opinion in Guevara, which interpreted the 1990 opinion of the Supreme Court in Miles, we are persuaded that, if faced with the question, the Supreme Court would agree with Guevara and hold that punitive damages are[*7] not recoverable in a maintenance and cure case. We note that a trial court within the eleventh circuit has disallowed punitive damages in a maintenance and cure case, concluding that the eleventh circuit would follow Guevara when presented with the issue. Hollinger v. Kirby Tankships, Inc., 910 F. Supp. 571 (S.D. Ala. 1996). We therefore hold that punitive damages are not available. We certify conflict with Norwegian Cruise Lines, Ltd. v. Zareno, 712 So. 2d 791 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).
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