Labance v. Dawsy
14 So. 3d 1256 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (July)
A deputy sheriff obtained a search warrant for the home of a suspected drug dealer. At the time the deputy sheriff arrived at the suspect’s home, the plaintiff was there picking up her mother. The plaintiff’s mother was babysitting the children in the house, and the plaintiff had no connections to the suspect. The suspect and deputy sheriff exchanged gun fire when the sheriff came to the door, and one of the deputy sheriff’s bullets hit the plaintiff in the hand. The plaintiff brought suit against the sheriff, arguing that he had a duty to exercise reasonable care and that he had breached that duty. The trial court dismissed this suit, ruling that the deputy sheriff had a duty to the public in general and not specifically to the plaintiff. The district court reversed this dismissal. It held that a special relationship existed in this case between the deputy sheriff and plaintiff because the deputy sheriff created a “foreseeable zone of risk” in the house when he executed the warrant. The deputy sheriff also argued that he was entitled to sovereign immunity protection since he has discretionary power regarding how to execute the warrant. The district court did not specifically rule on this issue, but it noted that only “planning level functions,” or those that require basic policy decisions, are protected in this manner.