David Julian Liston, III, and Dena Liston v. Claudia Liliana Salvi
In one of the first district court applications of the Florida Supreme Court's June 2026 decision in Perlmutter v. Federal Insurance Co., the Fourth District affirmed leave to plead punitive damages against one defendant and reversed as to the other. The court reaffirmed that at the pleading stage the trial court considers only the claimant's proffered evidence, views it in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and does not weigh evidence or apply the clear and convincing standard. Applying section 768.72(2)'s requirement that each defendant be 'personally guilty' of intentional misconduct or gross negligence, the court held that spitting in the plaintiff's face twice did not meet either statutory definition.
Key facts
- Claudia Salvi and David and Dena Liston are neighbors in Broward County. Salvi alleges that while she was walking her dogs on a neighborhood sidewalk the Listons attacked her verbally and physically based on a mistaken belief that she had yelled at their son.
- Salvi sued for assault, battery, false imprisonment, and negligence, then moved for leave to amend to add punitive damages claims on theories of intentional misconduct and gross negligence, relying primarily on her own deposition testimony as the evidentiary proffer.
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Holdings
- On a motion for leave to amend to plead punitive damages, the court asks only whether a reasonable person could conclude, based on the claimant's evidence, that the defendant committed…
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Why it matters
This is an early and highly practical application of Perlmutter v. Federal Insurance Co., 51 Fla. L. Weekly S163 (Fla. June 11, 2026), which reset the standard for section 768.72 punitive damages amendments. Two points… — full analysis with a trial
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