Publix Not Liable in ‘Unforeseeable’ 2021 Supermarket Shooting, Florida Court Says
By William Rabb | March 20, 2026
Even armed guards would not have been enough to stop the shooter in this case: The man carried his gun inside a fanny pack, concealed from view, explained William Large, of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, who helped write a friend-of-the-court brief in the appeal, in support of Publix. And even if the store had installed metal detectors at all entrances, that may have done little to stop a sociopathic shooter because Florida law allows concealed carry of a weapon, without a permit.
Large said the decision is an important win with statewide implications. It shows, as Levine noted in his opinion—quoting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes from 1897—that siding with the plaintiffs would have resulted in huge costs, costs that would be ultimately borne by society.
“Accepting Appellants’ invitation to expand Publix’s duty to encompass liability in these circumstances would turn all Florida retail businesses into guarantors of their patrons’ safety, which this Court has declined to do and should continue declining to do,” the Justice Reform Institute’s amicus brief reads.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2026/03/20/862711.htm
