Warshall v. Price
1993 WL 489018, 629 So.2d 903 (1993)
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Rule of Law:
The unauthorized taking and use of a copy of confidential business information, such as a patient list, constitutes conversion even if the original owner is not deprived of the information's physical possession.
Facts:
- Dr. Steven Warshall, a cardiologist, started a private practice in 1978.
- In July 1984, Warshall hired Dr. Richard Price, also a cardiologist, to work in his practice under an employment agreement.
- In the Spring of 1988, prior to his departure, Price obtained a copy of Warshall's patient list, which included names, addresses, phone numbers, and insurance information.
- On June 13, 1988, Price notified Warshall that he was terminating their employment relationship effective June 30, 1988.
- Price opened his own competing practice on July 1, 1988.
- Immediately after opening his practice, Price used the copied list to mail a letter to over 500 of Warshall's patients soliciting them to his new practice.
- As a result of Price's solicitation, over 300 of Warshall's patients transferred their medical records to Price's new practice.
Procedural Posture:
- Richard Price filed a lawsuit in a Florida trial court against Steven Warshall, claiming unpaid bonuses.
- Warshall filed a counterclaim against Price, alleging conversion of his patient list, among other claims.
- At trial, the judge granted a directed verdict in favor of Price on Warshall's conversion claim, removing it from the jury's consideration.
- Warshall, as appellant, appealed the trial court's final judgment to the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
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Issue:
Does taking a copy of a confidential patient list and using it to solicit patients constitute the tort of conversion, even if the original owner is not deprived of the list or the information on it?
Opinions:
Majority - Donner, Amy Steele, Associate Judge
Yes. Taking and using a copy of a confidential patient list for competitive purposes constitutes conversion. The court reasoned that conversion is an act of wrongful dominion over another's property, and it does not require that the owner be deprived of exclusive possession. The court rejected the trial court's view that the list had no value, analogizing it to airline tickets in Tourismart, where the value is not in the paper itself but in the service or income it represents. Citing Conant v. Karris, the court held that when Price used the confidential list, he denied Warshall the benefit of the data's confidentiality and used it to Warshall's disadvantage, which is a sufficient exercise of wrongful dominion to support a claim for conversion, even though Warshall retained access to the original information.
Analysis:
This decision expands the traditional tort of conversion beyond the physical dispossession of tangible property. It establishes that in Florida, intangible property like confidential client lists can be converted. The key insight is that the 'wrongful dominion' element of conversion is satisfied not by depriving the owner of the physical item, but by depriving the owner of the benefit of the information's confidentiality and exclusive use. This precedent is highly significant in the information age, providing a remedy for the misappropriation of trade secrets, customer data, and other valuable business information that can be easily copied without affecting the original.
