KEITH C. STEVENS, JR. AND RUTH STEVENS, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
LEN-HAL REALTY, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1981-08-26
No. 80-1175
DOWNEY, J., and BARKETT, ROSEMARY, Associate Judge, concur.
403 So. 2d 507 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1981) Caution
Cited by 17 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

In this mortgage foreclosure appeal, the court addressed whether res judicata bars relitigation of issues previously addressed in a declaratory judgment action. The court affirmed summary judgment on the appellants' counterclaim but reversed the foreclosure judgment, finding that res judicata applied to the counterclaim but not to affirmative defenses based on different causes of action.


Holding

The court held that res judicata bars the appellants' counterclaim for injunctive relief because all four elements of res judicata were present (identity in the thing sued for, cause of action, parties, and capacity). However, res judicata does not apply to the affirmative defenses because the prior case was not a foreclosure action and did not address whether the appellee's conduct hindered the appellants' ability to make mortgage payments.


Headnotes

[1] Res judicata bars relitigation of claims when there is an identity of the thing sued for, the cause of action, the persons and parties to the actions, and the quality or…

[2] The doctrine of res judicata acts as an absolute bar to a subsequent suit on the same cause of action if the four required identities are present.

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Key Quotes

“The doctrine of res judicata applies when there exists: (1) identity in the thing sued for, (2) identity of the cause of action, (3) identity of persons and parties to the actions, and (4) identity of the quality or capacity of the person for or against whom the claim is made.”

Establishes the four-element test for applying res judicata to bar a subsequent suit on the same cause of action

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Facts & Procedural History

The appellants purchased property with a motel and executed a purchase money mortgage to the appellee. They intended to operate a motel while the appe…

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Opinion of the Court
MOORE, Judge.

MOORE, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final summary judgment entered in an action to foreclose a mortgage on real estate. In entering the final summary judgment, the trial court relied upon the doctrine of res judicata. The issue before us is whether the doctrine of res judicata precludes relitigation of issues raised in affirmative defenses and a counterclaim when the same issues had been litigated in a prior proceeding. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

The appellants were the purchasers of a portion of property on which was constructed a motel. They executed a purchase money mortgage in favor of the appellee. The appellants intended to operate the motel in conjunction with a restaurant and marina which was to be constructed on the remaining portion of the real estate and which was to be operated by the appellee. In a previous suit, the appellee sought declaratory relief to determine the various rights of the parties regarding the subject property and an injunction from certain alleged wrongful activities of the appellants. The appellants counterclaimed in that suit, seeking to enjoin the appellee from certain alleged wrongful conduct. In the previous suit, the trial court entered a final judgment enjoining both parties from physically or emotionally harassing each other. No appeal was taken from that final judgment. In the mortgage foreclosure action before us, the appellants filed affirmative defenses and a counterclaim alleging the same wrongful conduct as they alleged in the prior suit.

The doctrine of res judicata applies when there exists: (1) identity in the thing sued for, (2) identity of the cause of action, (3) identity of persons and parties to the actions, and (4) identity of the quality or capacity of the person for or against whom the claim is made. If these four elements exist, the doctrine of res judicata acts to bar absolutely a subsequent suit on the same cause of action. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad v. Industrial Contracting Company, 260 So. 2d 860 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972). The counterclaim in the present case asserts the same cause of action for injunctive relief as in the prior case. The four identities for res judicata are present. Therefore, the adjudication in the prior case constitutes an absolute bar to appellants’ counterclaim here.

On the other hand, the prior case did not resolve the issues raised by appellants’ affirmative defenses to the mortgage foreclosure. The appellants alleged that the appellee interfered with their business by harassing their customers and destroying their property so as to inhibit their ability to make the mortgage payments. Res judica-ta does not apply because the prior case was not a foreclosure action.

Furthermore, the doctrine of estoppel by judgment does not apply. This doctrine applies when the two causes of action are different, in which case the judg ment in the first suit estops the parties from litigating in the second suit issues common to both causes of action which were actually litigated in the prior action. See, Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, supra. In the present case, the issue of whether the appellee interfered with appellants’ business, thereby hindering appellants’ ability to make mortgage payments, was not litigated in the prior case. The trial court there merely enjoined the parties from harassing each other and did not address the question of whether the alleged acts interfered with appellants’ ability to make mortgage payments. Therefore, summary judgment was improper in that material issues of fact remain to be determined regarding appellants’ affirmative defenses to the mortgage foreclosure.

Accordingly, we affirm the final summary judgment against the appellants on their counterclaim and reverse the final summary judgment of foreclosure. In doing so, we do not express an opinion on the validity of the allegations as a defense to the mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

AFFIRMED IN PART and REVERSED IN PART.

DOWNEY, J., and BARKETT, ROSEMARY, Associate Judge, concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Mayme Bondu v. Ruben Gurvich, M.D., 473 So. 2d 1307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)
    …ted is identical to the cause of action later brought. See United States Gypsum Co. v. Columbia Casualty Co., 124 Fla. 633, 169 So. 532 (1936); Husky Industries, Inc. v. Griffith, 422 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Stevens v.. Len-Hal Realty, Inc., 403 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). The dismissal of Counts VIII and IX adjudicated, at most, that no cause of action lay for the hospital’s failure to produce records where the alleged failure rendered the plaintiff unable to pursue certain proof which may be nec…
  • Knight Energy Servs., Inc. v. Amoco OIL Co., 660 So. 2d 786 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
    …the holder of the note comes to the court with unclean hands or the foreclosure would be unconscionable. Federal Sav. & Loan Ins. Corp. v. Two Rivers Assocs., Inc., 880 F. 2d 1267, 1272 (11th Cir.1989). Moreover, in Stevens v. Len-Hal Realty, Inc., 403 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), this court reversed a final summary judgment of foreclosure where substantial fact issues existed as to the mortgagor’s affirmative defense of tortious interference. In the instant case, therefore, the Kmght Entities’ affirmati…
  • Se. Fid. Ins. Co. v. Rice, 515 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
    …f coverage. Collateral estoppel is a complete defense to the relitigation of an issue when there is an identity of parties or their privies, an identity of issues, and an actual litigation thereof in the first suit. Stevens v. Len-Hal Realty, Inc., 403 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Seaboard Coast Line Railroad v. Industrial Contracting Co., 260 So. 2d 860 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972); 32 Fla.Jur. 2d Judgments and Decrees § 114 (1981). The principal involved in collateral estoppel is that: [a]ny right, fact or matt…

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