So that this misunderstanding may be cleared up:
"Self-defense laws in Florida also establish that people who legally used force are immune from criminal prosecution and civil actions." It doesn't say, "unless the civil action is brought by a third party who suffered damages."
What it does say in the Florida Statutes, Chapter 776, Section 776.032(1) is that: “A person who uses or threatens to use force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in such conduct and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use or threatened use of such force by the person, personal representative, or heirs of the person against whom the force was used or threatened…” So, an innocent, uninvolved third person, who was damaged by the person using justified force, is not within any category of persons barred by statute from bringing civil action against the person using that justified force.
The activities described in the news article included in the original post occurred in the State of Tennessee. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-11-605, states: “Civil remedies unaffected.– The fact that conduct is justified under this part does not abolish or impair any remedy for the conduct that is or may be available in a civil suit.”
