State of Florida, Department of Corrections v. Tammy Pate

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
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No. 1D17-4562
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STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS,
Appellant,
v.
TAMMY PATE,
Appellee.
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On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County.
James O. Shelfer, Judge.
January 10, 2019
PER CURIAM.
The Department of Corrections appeals the final judgment in
favor of Appellee in this retaliatory discharge case. The
Department argues that the trial court erred in denying its
motions for directed verdict because Appellee failed to prove a
causal link between her firing and a prior discrimination suit she
filed against the Department. We agree because the “cat’s paw”
theory of liability advanced by Appellee at trial is largely
foreclosed by this court’s decision in State v. Bracewell, 220 So. 3d
1228 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017), 1 and was not otherwise supported by the
evidence. Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment and remand
for entry of judgment in favor of the Department.
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions
WOLF, LEWIS, and WETHERELL, JJ., concur.
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Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
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Ashley Brooke Moody, Attorney General, and Glen A. Bassett,
Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Marie A. Mattox, Marie A. Mattox P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellee.
1 The trial court did not have the benefit of the Bracewell
opinion at the time of the trial.
2