ARDEN V. SALDANA

State: Florida

Court: Florida Third District Court

Docket No: 07-0433

Case Date: 10/15/2008

Preview:Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida, July Term, A.D. 2008
Opinion filed October 15, 2008. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. ________________ No. 3D07-433 Lower Tribunal No. 06-3018 ________________

Elizabeth Arden, Inc.,
Appellant, vs.

Carlos Saldana, Barbara Saldana, his wife, individually and Barbara Saldana, as next friend and natural guardian of Dayanna Saldana, a minor, and Suave Shoe Corp., a Florida corporation,
Appellees.

A Non-Final Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Mindy S. Glazer, Judge. Richard A. Sherman; Adorno and Yoss, David M. Tarlow and Gregory A. Victor, for appellant. Beckham & Beckham, Pamela Beckham and Robert Beckham, for appellees.

Before WELLS, ROTHENBERG, and LAGOA, JJ. WELLS, J.

Elizabeth Arden, Inc., (herein "Arden"), appeals from an order denying its motion for summary judgment, wherein it argued workers' compensation immunity under section 441.11(1), Florida Statutes (2004). Because the order does not specifically state that workers' compensation immunity is unavailable as a defense, we dismiss the instant appeal. See Reeves v. Fleetwood Homes of Fla., Inc., 889 So. 2d 812, 821-22 (Fla. 2004) ("Nonfinal orders denying summary judgment on a claim of workers' compensation immunity are not appealable unless the trial court order specifically states that, as a matter of law, such a defense is not available to a party." (quoting Hastings v. Demming, 694 So. 2d 718, 720 (Fla. 1997))). In January 2004, Carlos Saldana was injured while at work. Shortly after he was injured, Saldana made a claim for and began receiving workers' compensation benefits from Arden's workers' compensation carrier. A little over two years later, Saldana brought a premises liability suit against both Arden and Suave Shoe Corporation. Without alleging which company owned the property at the time he was injured, Saldana claimed that both "SUAVE SHOE CORP and ELIZABETH ARDEN, INC., owed a duty to Plaintiff CARLOS SALDANA and to the general public to keep their premises in reasonably safe condition." Arden thereafter filed a motion for summary judgment asserting immunity under section 440.11(1), which in pertinent part provides:

2

The liability of an employer prescribed in s.440.10 shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability, including vicarious liability, of such employer to any third-party tortfeasor and to the employee . . . except as follows; (a) If an employer fails to secure payment of compensation as required by this chapter. . . . (b) When an employer commits an intentional tort that causes the injury or death of the employee. . . .

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