Carter, J., in Watson v. Jones (1899) 41 Florida, 241, 253–255

[After citing Wheeler v. Baars, 33 Florida, 696.]

It is there said that the scienter may be proved by showing, first, actual knowledge of the falsity of the representation by defendant; second, that defendant made the statement as of his own knowledge, or in such absolute unqualified and positive terms as to imply his personal knowledge of the fact, when in truth defendant had no knowledge whether the statement was true or false; or, third, that the party’s special situation or means of knowledge were such as to make it his duty to know as to the truth or falsity of the representation. Under each phase the proof must show that the statement was in fact false, and in addition, under the first, that defendant had actual knowledge that it was false; under the second, that defendant made the statement as of his own knowledge, when in fact he had no knowledge whether it was true or false, which seems to bear a close resemblance to the English rule, “without belief in its truth, or recklessly careless whether it be true or false”; and under the third, that defendant’s special situation or means of knowledge were such as made it his duty to know as to the truth or falsity of the representation. From this statement it is quite evident that proof sufficient to sustain the third phase tends very strongly to sustain the idea that the defendant had actual knowledge of the falsity of his statement; for when it is shown that the statement was material and false, and that the defendant’s situation or means of knowledge were such as to make it incumbent upon him as a matter of duty to know whether the statement was true or false, the conclusion is almost irresistible that he did know that which his duty required him to know. For this reason the law conclusively presumes from the existence of these facts that defendant had actual knowledge of the falsity of his statement, or, more properly speaking, proof of these facts is sufficient to sustain a charge of actual knowledge, dispensing with further proof upon that subject, and admitting no proof to rebut the fact of actual knowledge, but only proof to rebut the existence of the facts from which such actual knowledge is inferred. We are therefore of opinion that proof of scienter in the third phase does not give another or different right or ground of action from that given by proof under the first phase, but that it simply establishes the same ultimate fact, viz., knowledge, by a different class of evidence, and consequently that an allegation that defendant “knew” his representation to be false is provable by evidence embraced in the third phase. In other words, an averment that defendant’s situation or means of knowledge were such as made it his duty to know whether his statement was true or false, and an averment that defendant well knew his statements to be untrue, are but different methods of stating the same ultimate fact, viz., knowledge.