Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page2 So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So,2d compelled to disclose intimate details of their sexu al history We decline to issue the writ of certiorari Balas and Shumate filed suit against Ruzzo and Ex ec Inc doing business as The Boardroom Ac cording to Balas and Shumate The Boardroom op erates ostensibly as a leisure spa but actually is a house of prostitution Balas worked at The Boardroom from December until February Shumate worked there from October until March Ruzzo the sole officer and shareholder of Exec Inc collected about fifty to sixty percent of each employees earnings from per forming sexual acts According to Balas and Shumate Ruzzo exerted mental and emotional control over her employees and thus she was able to exploit them as prostitutes Ruzzo required her employees to pay her substan tial sums of money to attend metaphysical work shops conducted by Ruzzo or persons associated with her At the work place the employees were re quired to participate in religious and quasi-religious circles rituals and incantations These practices were allegedly designed to break down the person alities of the women who worked for Ruzzo and to foster dependency and loyalty to herself At one time when the earnings of a new employee were missing and believed to be stolen Ruzzo required that the petitioners be strip searched and body cav ity searched Ruzzo caused the petitioners to be lieve their continued employment was dependent on their submission to these searches and that they might be arrested on felony charges if they refused to submit to the searches Balas and Shumates second amended complaint against Ruzzo contains seven counts Count I is an action for coercion of prostitution pursuant to sec tion Florida Statutes Petitioners allege the requirement that they perform sexual acts to retain their employment constitutes inducement and coer cion to engage in prostitution Count II is a claim for battery for the unwanted and offensive touching of the petitioners bodies Count I is a claim for false imprisonment for physically confining the pe titioners against their will Count IV alleges that re spondents actions constituted an invasion of peti tioners privacy Count is a claim for the inten tional infliction of emotional distress Count VI al leges a civil rights action-that respondents have vi olated petitioners right to be free from crimes of vi olence motivated by gender within the meaning of U.S.C section Finally count VII seeks civil remedies for criminal practices or racketeering pursuant to section I Florida Statutes The petitioners claim that they suffered emotional pain anguish humiliation insult indignity loss of self esteem inconvenience hurt and emotional distress They seek an award of general and punitive dam ages among other relief The discovery to which the petitioners are being re quired to respond is as follows I Interrogatory Please advise how long have you been engaged in prostitution JI Interrogatory State with specificity the man ner in which the acts as described in your Com plaint have materially affected how you interact with your husband boyfriend fiancee sic or any other individual of the opposite sex I Request for Production A copy of any photo graphs movies or videotapes in which you per formed sexual acts and/or simulated sexual acts in exchange for money or other consideration IV Interrogatory Please list the names addresses telephone numbers and rates of pay for all em ployers for which you worked including the Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So.2d nature of the work during the five years immedi ately preceding the date of employment with the Boardroom and from the date of your termination with the Boardroom to the present providing the names of your immediate supervisors at each place of employment and the reason for your leaving each place of employment nterrogatory Please state your total income while employed at the Boardroom and state the source of that income including any income from other employment or income earned from prostitution other than at the Boardroom VI Request for Production Business records from any selfemployment or owned business ventures in the last years including any records or list of customers special customer lists or usugar daddys list Discovery in civil cases must be relevant to the subject matter of the case and must be admiss ible or reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence See Allstate Insurance Co Langston So.2d Amente Newman So.2d Russell Stardust Cruis ers Inc So.2d Fla 5th DCA The concept of relevancy is broader in the discovery context than in the trial context and a party may be permitted to discover evidence that would be inad missible at trial if it would lead to the discovery of relevant evidence Allstate Amente Florida Rule of Civil Procedure delineates the proper scope of discovery In General Parties may obtain discovery regard ing any matter not privileged that is relevant to the subject matter of the pending action whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or the claim or defense of any other party including the existence description nature custody condition and location of any books documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having know ledge of any discoverable matter It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the dis covery of admissible evidence Nonetheless the discovery of certain kinds of in formation may cause material injury of an irrepar able nature This includes the cat-out-of-the-bag material that could be used to injure another person or party outside the context of the litigation materi al protected by privilege trade secrets or work product Discovery was never intended to be used as a tactical tool to harass embarrass or annoy ones adversary Rather pretrial discovery was im plemented to simplify the issues in a case to elim inate the elements of surprise to encourage the set tlement of cases to avoid the cost of litigation and to achieve a balanced search for the truth to ensure a fair trial Elkins Syken So.2d Here the petitioners argue that the information sought to be discovered regarding prostitution and their sexual activities was propounded solely to em barrass them and to invade their right to privacy The petitioners also claim that this information is privileged under section and is not calcu lated to lead to evidence which would be admiss ible at trial Section provides a person with a civil cause of action for compensatory and punitive damages against anyone who coerces that person into prosti tution who coerces that person to remain in prosti tution or who uses coercion to collect or receive any part of that persons earnings derived from prostitution In the course of litigation under this section any transaction about which a plaintiff test ifies or produces evidence does not subject the plaintiff to criminal prosecution or to any penalty or forfeiture In addition any testimony or evidence or any information produced by the plaintiff or wit Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page4 So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So.2d ness for the plaintiffs cannot be used against the plaintiffs or witness in any other investigation or proceeding except one for perjury Section specifically provides that it is not a defense that the plaintiff was paid or otherwise compensated for prostitution that the plaintiff had engaged in prostitution prior to any involvement with the defendant or that the plaintiff made no at tempt to escape from the defendant Section provides that convictions for prostitution or prostitution-related offenses are inadmissible for the purpose of attacking the plaintiffs credibility This legislation was the result of the Florida Su preme Court Gender Bias Study Commission which conducted an extensive investigation of pros titution in this state The Commissions activities included interviews with Jaw enforcement and cor rections personnel judges public defenders prosecutors drug rehabilitation counselors social workers medical personnel prostitutes clients and pimps The Commission found prostitution to be prevalent and uniform throughout the state and law enforcement largely unable to deter it under pre vailing social attitudes and judicial practices The Commission further found that prostitutes are often victims of economic physical and psychological coercion that most persons do not chose to become prostitutes but do so to survive and that ninety percent of street prostitutes both adult and chil dren are controlled by pimps who use a variety of coercive methods to maintain this control The Commission determined that clients and pimps are rarely prosecuted and when prosecuted receive light sentences whereas prostitutes who are mainly females are frequently prosecuted and receive harsher treatment in the courts The Commission recommended changes in the methods of interven tion in prostitution from punitive to therapeutic changes in the law to require more equal treatment by the courts of the prostitute in relation to the cli ent and the pimp and to lessen the incentive to traffic in human flesh by giving the prostitute ac cess to the judicial system without first having to be arrested Under section the petitioners prior involve ment in prostitution and their earnings from prosti tution would be irrelevant Hence discovery should not be permitted because such information would not be admissible at trial nor would it be reasonably calculated to lead to evidence ultimately admissible at trial Even though the scope of discovery is gen erally quite broad section is designed to en courage prostitutes to sue their pimps Thus the usually broad scope of discovery may be constric ted so that prostitutes will not be embarrassed har assed or hindered in their actions Had the petitioners brought their lawsuit against Ruzzo and The Boardroom only under section evidence of petitioners past prostitution including with the Boardroom and their earnings relating to such activities may not have been dis coverable However the petitioners filed a multi count complaint for compensatory and punitive damages alleging numerous causes of action against the respondents These other causes carry no such protection from discovery Since the in formation sought by discovery may be relevant or may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in one or more of these other causes of action or to determination of damages we cannot conclude that the trial court departed from the essential require ments of Jaw in granting this discovery See Smith TIB Bank of the Keys So.2d Fla 3d DCA I by alleging fraud as well as breach of contract purchaser placed at issue her reliance on venders assertions the veracity of financial docu ments she submitted to the vender and the state of her mental health including memory problems she was experiencing at the time of the alleged tortious conduct thus deposition questions concerning her state of mind were relevant Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED THOMPSON concurs HARRIS concurs specially with opin ion.HARRIS Judge concurring specially Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Pages So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So.2d There is a temptation in cases such as this to inquire which the pot or the kettle is imbued with the darker hue Indeed that may ultimately be the ques tion uppermost in the jurors minds But the issue presently before us is simply whether the pot in or der to establish the parties comparative complex ion may discover the historical condition and the inherent characteristics of the kettle We are here involved with parties that the limited record before us indicates were co-conspirators in a joint effort to violate Floridas laws against prosti tution The defendants are the owner/operators of a social club whose primary service is prostitution the plaintiffs are employees of the club who provide such services The employees are suing the owner/operators for among other counts taking ad vantage of their vulnerabilities coercing them to be prostitutes through manipulation and exploita tion In order to prepare a defense to the action de fendants have filed certain interrogatories for the employees to answer These interrogatories l0S0 request such information as how long the employ ees have been engaged in prostitution how the em ployees have been affected by the defendants con duct copies of photographs movies and video tapes in which the employees have performed sexu al acts or simulated sexual acts the names of previ ous employers and previous rates of pay and a statement of income received from defendants These interrogatories survived the employees ob jections I agree certiorari should be denied The employees primary cause of action is based on section Florida Statutes which provides A person has a cause of action for compensatory and punitive damages against a A person who coerces that person into prostitu tion A person who coerces that person to remain in prostitution or A person who uses coercion to collect or receive any part of that persons earnings derived from prostitution The employees resist discovery of their past prosti tution or their past or present earning experience on the basis of subparagraph of section It does not constitute a defense to a complaint under this section that a The plaintiff was paid or otherwise compensated for acts of prostitution The plaintiff engaged in acts of prostitution pri or to any involvement with the defendant But the question before us is not whether prior acts of prostitution or the receipts of earnings there from which might be revealed by answering the in terrogatories could be used as a defense to the com plaint but rather whether evidence of such conduct or such earnings would be relevant in determining whether the employees were in fact coerced into prostitution into remaining prostitutes or into shar ing the proceeds of their services with defendants The relevancy of this information depends of course on what constitutes coercion If we apply the definition of coercion which is commonly accepted then the relevancy of the re quested information is apparent and this appeal has no merit at all Webster defines coercion as to restrain or dominate by force to compel an act or choice or to enforce or bring about by force or threat In sexual battery cases the legis lature has adopted the common meaning of the word coercion and has even placed limits on it It has provided that consent will not be recognized if submission is coerced by threats of force or viol ence if the victim reasonably believes the perpetrat or has the present ability to execute the threat.N Consent also will not be recognized if submission is coerced by a threat of retaliation against the victim or another if the victim reasonably believes that the perpetrator has the ability to execute the threat in the future FN2 And in sexual battery cases the le gislature has vitiated what might otherwise be con Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page6 So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So.2d sidered as consensual if one exploits a known phys ical or mental weakness of the victim to achieve his or her goal or takes advantage of one who is phys ically helpless or involuntarily intoxicated.FNl Therefore even in sexual battery cases before co ercion or exploitation will vitiate consent the free will of the victim must be overcome by force or threat or some unfortunate circumstance suffered by the victim FNI Section Florida Stat utes FN2 Section Florida Stat utes FN3 Section a and Florida Statutes But then we get to the definition of coercion con tained in section As used in this section the term coercion means any practice of dominion restraint or in ducement for the purpose of or with the reason ably foreseeable effect of causing another person to engage in or remain in prostitution or to relin quish earnings derived from prostitution and in eludes but is not limited to a Physical force or threats of physical force Physical or mental torture Kidnapping Blackmail Extortion or claims of indebtedness Threats of legal complaint or report of delin quency Threat to interfere with parental rights or re sponsibilities whether by judicial or administrat ive action or otherwise Promise oflegal benefit Promise of greater financial rewards Promise of marriage Restraint of Speech or communications with others Exploitation of a condition of developmental disability cognitive limitation affective disorder or substance dependency Exploitation of victimization by sexual abuse Exploitation of pornographic performance Exploitation of human needs for food shelter safety or affection The definition urged by the employees herein is the promise of a greater financial reward Whether the requested information is relevant to the issue of coercion in this case will depend on what the legis lature intended by subsection in the meaning of coercion I agree with Judge Altenbernds thoughtful analysis in State Brigham So.2d fhere can be no dispute that the legislatures unusu al definition of percent is not a common dic tionary definition This is perhaps an appropriate case in which to remind ourselves of Learned Hands famous observation that a mature and de veloped jurisprudence does not make a fortress out of the dictionary But even so one would expect some nexus between the commonly accepted meaning of a word and the definition of that word ascribed by the legislature If for example the legislature defined canine as including cats although one might jurispruden tially speaking expect to hear a meow emanate from a Great Dane the courts should nevertheless closely examine the legislative history to see if that is really what the legislature intended The court in Young OKeefe Iowa N.W.2d stated this principle as follows But Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page7 So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Cite as So.2d before a definition is construed so as to expand the meaning of a well-known word to include its ant onym the intention of the legislature to that ef fect must be clear As Judge Campbell observed in Catron Roger Bohn D.C P.A So.2d Fla 2d DCA is our primary duty to give effect to legislative intent and if a literal interpretation of a statute leads to unreasonable results then we should ex ercise our power to interpret reason and logic to it Unfortunately it is apparent that in enacting this le gislation the legislature has without redefining the terms for the purposes of this legislation of ten used terms with commonly accepted mean ings for purposes at great variance from those commonly accepted meanings In our case the legislature did define the term for the purpose of the act But because the term coercion as so defined can be interpreted two ways-one consistent with the commonly accepted meaning and one at variance-we should not accept the antonym unless such legislative intent is clear A free will decision even if based on a hope of financial gain is the opposite of a coerced de cision The employees urge that the mere promise of a greater reward brings them within the act But if the mere promise of a greater reward is sufficient to es tablish coercion then anyone who makes a volun tary and reasoned exercise of free will motivated by the hope of economic gain has been coerced This definition removes the element of compulsion im plicit in the commonly accepted meaning of coer cion and substitutes therefor the mere desire for fin ancial gain The employees herein assert that since they were offered a greater financial reward for providing the services performed by them through defendants establishment they were coerced into their prostitution activities This equates the giving of an opportunity to make a decision with the coer cion of that decision But subsection I can also mean that the promise of a greater reward is coercion only if such promised reward is sufficient to overcome ones natural revulsion to selling ones body for money If there is no such revulsion there can be no coercion Becoming a prostitute only be cause one likes the hours and wages or because it beats the heck out of working for a living simply should not meet the test of section At oral argument herein it was suggested without contradiction that at least one of the employees has a college degree and gave up a well-paying legit imate job in order to engage in this profession for the greater reward Section does not appear to be a general prostitutes relief act It is based on a report by the Gender Bias Study Commission which recommended the equalization of treatment in rela tion to the prostitute the client and the pimp It is based on the premise that prostitutes are generally victims of economic physical and psychological coercion and choose prostitution in order to sur vive Further the Commission was concerned that percent of the street prostitutes are controlled by pimps who use a variety of coercive methods to maintain control It seems clear that the legislature was not intending to depart from the precepts of the commonly understood meaning of coercion and to redefine it to include both free will decisions and compelled decisions The interpretation urged by the employees seems at variance with the stated goal of the legislature and the Gender Bias Com mission Since there is no cause of action provided for one who makes a reasoned and voluntary exercise of their free will to enter or continue in the profession solely for financial rewards assuming coercion is given the definition more consistent with its com monly accepted meaning and assuming that my in terpretation of legislative intent is correct coercion becomes the critical issue in the trial of such action The interrogatories propounded by defendants ap pear relevant to the issue of coercion Thomson Reuters/West No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Page of8 So.2d Page8 So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 Cite as So.2d This is a case of first impression based on a relat ively new statute As indicated the legislative his tory of the new law suggests that the statute is de signed to assist those who were forced to enter prostitution in order to keep a roof over their heads or food on their table It does not appear to be in tended to aid those who voluntarily enter the pro fession in order to drive a Mercedes instead of a Ford The limited record before us indicates that even beginning employees of the defendants those who do not have an established clientele bring in a day and can keep of their earnings Based on a five-day work week this would reflect an income of a year even with a two week vacation And the employees herein are not begin ners There is no indication that the legislature intended to legalize prostitution or to make it a respectable profession It merely intended to place the prosti tute on the same footing with the client and the pimp If a prostitute voluntarily makes the de cision to participate free from force intimidation or disadvantageous circumstance then he or she is on the same footing as the other participants and should be treated the same Although it might well serve a legitimate public purpose to permit the cannibalistic demise of such enterprises and I am not unsympathetic with this view that does not appear to be the policy behind the current statute Therefore in cases where coer cion is not present and this may or may not be one the court should continue its tradition of not interceding in civil conflicts involving transactions that are either illegal or are against public policy See Wechsler Novak Fla So.2d Thomas Ratiner So.2d Fla 3d DCA rev denied So.2d An action may lie for interference with an unenforceable contract and even perhaps a void able contract No such cause of action lies for inter ference with a contract void as against public policy anothers representation of a client obtained by a doctor/lawyers illegal personal injury solicitation in the hospital and which makes one who is a party thereto as the appellant in the instant case guilty of a criminal act for entering into such an agree ment We are not asked in this proceeding to rule on the admissibility of the discovered information as evid ence at the trial of this cause We are to determine only if the information might lead to admissible evidence Even though we deny the Writ I suggest we certify the following question DOES ONE FREE FROM FORCE INTIMIDA TION OR DISADVANTAGEOUS CIRCUM STANCE WHO MAKES A REASONED DE CISION TO BECOME OR REMAIN A PROSTI TUTE OR TO SHARE THE PROCEEDS THEREOF BECAUSE OF A PROMISE OF A GREATER FINANCIAL REWARD HAVE A CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER SECTION FLORJDA STATUTES ON MOTIONS FOR REHEARING FOR CLARI FICATION FOR CERTIFICATION AND FOR RE HEARING EN BANC SHARP Judge Petitioners Balas and Shumate have filed motions for rehearing clarification and certification We deny the motions in full except for one regard We delete the sentence in the last full paragraph of the opinion which reads These other causes of action caJTy no such protection from discovery Motion for Clarification GRANTED as stated above Motion for Rehearing and Certification DENIED HARRIS and THOMPSON JJ concur Fla.App Dist Balas Ruzzo So.2d Fla Weekly Fla Weekly Dl69 END OF DOCUMENT Thomson ReuterslWest No Claim to Orig US Gov Works Split prft HTMLE ifm otSet mt
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