## Facts

- Janet Bergeron lived in Florida with Edward “Eddie” Acquadro, an elderly relative of Dr. Martin Acquadro and Rose Acquadro, who lived in Massachusetts.
- After an altercation in Florida, Bergeron was arrested for battery of a person age 65 or older; the State later filed a nolle prosequi after mental evaluations supported a legal-insanity conclusion.
- Eddie was flown to Massachusetts for medical care and later moved to assisted living.
- Bergeron alleged Rose made a defamatory telephone statement to Bergeron’s sister in Massachusetts claiming Bergeron had AIDS.
- Bergeron alleged Martin made telephone communications into Florida that caused or contributed to her arrest and prosecution, supporting claims for false arrest/false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
- Bergeron sued Martin and Rose in Florida state court and asserted personal jurisdiction under Florida’s long-arm statute based on the alleged telephonic torts.
- Martin and Rose moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and filed affidavits denying wrongdoing and disputing aspects of Bergeron’s allegations.
- The trial court denied dismissal; the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether alleged tortious conduct committed through telephone communications can qualify as “committing a tortious act within this state” under Florida’s long-arm statute, § 48.193.
2. Whether defendants’ affidavits sufficiently and specifically disputed the jurisdictional allegations to shift the burden back to the plaintiff and require dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court approved the district court’s decision and affirmed the trial court’s denial of the motion to dismiss.
- The Court held that telephonic communications directed into Florida can satisfy § 48.193’s “tortious act within this state” provision when the claims arise from those communications.
- The Court held the defendants’ affidavits did not eliminate the jurisdictional basis because they largely denied liability in a conclusory or merits-focused way rather than specifically negating the jurisdictional facts tied to the alleged communications.

## Legal Principles

- Florida’s long-arm statute may be satisfied when a nonresident commits an alleged tort through telephonic (or similar remote) communications into Florida and the cause of action arises from those communications.
- For jurisdictional challenges, a defendant’s affidavit must specifically and factually refute the complaint’s jurisdictional allegations; generalized denials of the tort or denials aimed at the merits do not, by themselves, defeat long-arm jurisdiction at the pleading stage.
- When the operative acts alleged to constitute the tort are the communications into Florida, those communications can supply the statutory nexus for specific personal jurisdiction even without the defendant’s physical presence in Florida.

## Conclusion

Florida courts may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over nonresidents alleged to have committed torts through telephone communications directed into Florida, and defendants seeking dismissal must factually negate the jurisdictional allegations rather than rely on conclusory or merits-based denials.


Acquadro v. Bergeron, 851 So. 2d 665 (Fla. 2003)