§ 48.Punitive, generally, 24A Fla. Jur 2d False Imprisonment § 48 24A Fla. Jur 2d False Imprisonment § 48 Florida Jurisprudence, Second Edition May 2017 Update False Imprisonment and Malicious Prosecution Christine M. G. Davis, J.D., LL.M.. and Lisa A. Zakolski, M.A., J.D. II. Malicious Prosecution D. Damages § 48. Punitive, generally Topic Summary Correlation Table References West's Key Number Digest • West's Key Number Digest, Malicious Prosecution O.•68 Trial Strategy Malicious Prosecution, 16 Am. Jur. Trials 205 §§ 10, II Exemplary or punitive damages may be recovered by the plaintiff in an action for malicious prosecution in addition to compensatory damages. Such damages may be awarded when them is proof of actual malice or where the defendant's act was done willfully in a wanton disregard of the rights of others.' Exemplary or punitive damages blend the interests of society and the aggrieved individual, and the damages are not only recompense to the sufferer but also punishment to the offender and an example to the community.' Punitive damages do not ensue automatically from a finding of malicious prosecution; they may be awarded by the jury if it determines that the tortfeasor acted with sufficient wantonness or recklessness in regard to the rights of others as to warrant punishment in addition to the compensatory award. Illustration: Grocery store employees were not untruthful deliberately or acting with reckless disregard for the truth when they told the arresting officer that the customer walked out of the store without paying for the merchandise, precluding an award of punitive damages in a malicious prosecution action in which the jury found a lack of probable cause for the customer's arrest. where the customer refused to provide a receipt, continued out of the store, and, after repeated requests, told the employees that she had no receipt' Legal malice, based solely on the absence of probable cause, is insufficient to support