Southern Bell Tel. Tel. v. Barnes

Full title: SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE TELEGRAPH COMPANY AND KEVIN DOWLING, APPELLANTS…

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Jan 24, 1984

443 So. 2d 1085 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1984)

Opinion

No. 83-1593.

January 24, 1984.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, Robert H. Newman, J.

Shutts Bowen and John T. Kolinski and Sally M. Richardson, Miami, for appellants.

duFresne Bradley and Amy Lehman and Elizabeth duFresne, Miami, for appellee.

Before BARKDULL, BASKIN and FERGUSON, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

We find that publication of slander can occur in intra-corporation communications. See: Glynn v. City of Kissimmee, 383 So.2d 774 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); Drennen v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 328 So.2d 52 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Arison Shipping Company v. Smith, 311 So.2d 739 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Restatement 2d of Torts, § 596. We do not read Pledger v. Burnup Sims, Inc., 432 So.2d 1323 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) to prohibit such a finding. We also find no error in this case in submitting the question of qualified privilege to a jury. Hartley Parker, Inc. v. Copeland, 51 So.2d 789 (Fla. 1951); Abraham v. Baldwin, 52 Fla. 151, 42 So. 591 (1906); Riggs v. Cain, 406 So.2d 1202 (Fla. 3th DCA 1981); Lewis v. Evans, 406 So.2d 489 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981).

Therefore the final judgment on the jury verdict be and the same is hereby affirmed.

Affirmed.