In re: Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases s Report No. 18-03
The Florida Supreme Court authorized a new Section 420 of the standard civil jury instructions covering negligent infliction of emotional distress (instructions 420.1 through 420.7), including introduction, summary of claims, greater weight of the evidence, negligence, legal cause, issues on claim, and burden of proof. The elements instruction (420.6) codifies the Champion v. Gray/Zell v. Meek framework: defendant's negligence causing injury to another, the claimant's involvement in the event, a close personal relationship to the injured person, the claimant's own physical injury, and causation of that physical injury by the emotional distress. The Court expressed no opinion on the instructions' legal correctness.
Key facts
- The Florida Supreme Court authorized new standard civil jury instructions (Section 420, instructions 420.1-420.7) for negligent infliction of emotional distress claims.
- Instruction 420.6 codifies the elements of an NIED claim derived from Champion v. Gray and Zell v. Meek, requiring defendant's negligence, claimant's involvement in the injury-producing event, close personal relationship to the injured person, claimant's own physical injury, and causation between emotional distress and physical injury.
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Why it matters
This is the first set of standard civil jury instructions for negligent infliction of emotional distress in Florida, giving plaintiffs' and defense counsel a court-authorized template for pleading, proving, and charging… — full analysis with a trial
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