Florida Appellate Court Reverses Lower Court on False Light Action

In a false light action filed against a newspaper, a Florida appellate court has ruled that the invasion of privacy claim is subject to a two-year statute of limitations that applies to defamation actions, rather than “the general four-year statute that applies to unspecified torts” and has reversed the lower court. The appellate court noted that its decision conflicts with another Florida appellate court’s decision.  “Irrespective of the decisional conflict, we believe that our decision passes upon an important issue that should be addressed by the Supreme Court of Florida. Accordingly, we certify the following question as a question of great public importance: Is an action for invasion of privacy based on the false light theory governed by the two-year statute of limitations that applies to defamation claims or by the four-year statute that applies to unspecified tort claims?”

The case is Gannett v. Anderson, Case no. ID05-2179.