Doe, Doe v. Young Men's Christian Association of the Suncoast, Inc., Cortez

── Doe, Doe v. Young Men's Christian Association of the Suncoast, Inc., Cortez ── Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT JOHN DOE and JANET DOE, Appellants, v. YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF THE SUNCOAST, INC.; DELONYX CORTEZ; LINDA PENN; PLAY SPACE SERVICES, INC.; M.D.K.; and C.K., Appellees. No. 2D2024-1900 May 15, 2026 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Cynthia J. Newton, Judge. Bradley S. Bell of Bell Law Group, Tampa; and Joshua Drechsel of Josh Firm, P.A., St. Petersburg, for Appellants. Jeffrey R. Dion, Executive Director, Zero Abuse Project, Amicus Brief in Support of Appellants John Doe and Janet Doe. Edward S. Schwartz of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A., Miami; and Keith West of Victims' Recovery Law Center, Newton Square, Pennsylvania, on Behalf of the National Crime Victims' Bar Association Amicus Committee. Dinah S. Stein of Hicks, Porter & Stein, P.A., Miami; and David M. Tarlow of Quintarios, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, for Appellees Young Men's Christian Association of the Suncoast, Inc., Delonyx Cortez, and Linda Penn. No appearance for remaining Appellees. SLEET, Judge. John and Janet Doe brought a thirty-eight-count lawsuit against the Young Men's Christian Association of the Suncoast, Inc. (YMCA), and two of its employees, Delonyx Cortez and Linda Penn, on behalf of themselves and their three-year-old daughter. The claims raised in the complaint stem from an incident involving their daughter while she was in the Kids Zone area of the Greater Safety Harbor YMCA. This is an appeal from the trial court's order dismissing with prejudice Mr. and Mrs. Doe's individual claims for loss of filial consortium, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress brought against each of the three named defendants and their claims for breach of contract brought against only the YMCA.1 Because the trial court should have given Mr. and Mrs. Doe an opportunity to amend their loss of filial consortium and breach of contract claims, we reverse the trial court's order only to the extent that the dismissal of those counts was with prejudice. We affirm the trial court's order in all other respects. In its Kids Zone area, which includes a jungle gym play structure and other play equipment for young children, the YMCA provides child- watch services for its members. Delonyx Cortez was the executive director and Linda Penn was the Kids Zone coordinator for the Greater Palm Harbor YMCA. Mr. and Mrs. Doe were YMCA members. On June 15, 2019, Mrs. Doe went to the Greater Palm Harbor YMCA and signed her daughter in at the Kids Zone to be watched by YMCA employees. While there, the three-year-old reported to YMCA 1 The trial court's order is appealable as it dismisses all of the counts brought by Mr. and Mrs. Doe. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(k). Counts brought on behalf of the child, Jane Doe, remain pending in the trial court and are not a part of this appeal. 2 employees that two boys, ages seven and eleven, who were also signed in to the Kids Zone, touched her inappropriately.2 The child reported the incident to YMCA staff, who notified Penn. Penn then called Mrs. Doe, who was on the YMCA property. During this call, Penn asked Mrs. Doe whether her daughter "makes up stories or tells lies." Neither Penn nor Cortez contacted law enforcement at that time. Mrs. Doe took her daughter home and informed Mr. Doe of what had happened. Mr. Doe then contacted the YMCA, first by phone and then in person, and demanded that law enforcement be notified. On April 28, 2022, Mr. and Mrs. Doe filed their original complaint, each alleging separate counts of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), neglig