10/16/2026
Legal Insight of the Week
Negligence Claims Against Government
In Florida Department of Children and Families v. Gainey, the Estate of Nazariah Brown filed a negligence action against the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), alleging failures in employee training and supervision, improper placement in a facility unable to meet Brown's medical needs, and negligent investigation and closure of abuse hotline reports.
The trial court denied DCF's motion for summary judgment, finding disputed issues of fact and determining that sovereign immunity did not apply.
The First DCA reversed, holding that sovereign immunity is a threshold legal issue for the court to decide. The court determined that the challenged conduct, including training, supervision, investigations, placement decisions, and allocation of services, involved discretionary governmental functions protected by sovereign immunity.
Because sovereign immunity had not been waived for these functions, the court directed entry of summary judgment in favor of DCF.
Takeaway: Government agencies may be protected from negligence claims when the challenged conduct involves discretionary, planning-level decisions. Even when negligence is alleged, courts must first determine whether sovereign immunity bars the claim before allowing the case to proceed.
We will continue sharing weekly case insights from attorney Lauren Lytal at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath to help keep both the public and legal community informed. ⚖️