SEA TOWER APARTMENTS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; NORMAN BRADLEY AND KATHRYN FITCHETT, A WIDOW, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF A CLASS, APPELLANTS/CROSS-APPELLEES,
v.
CENTURY NATIONAL BANK, FORMERLY KNOWN AS CORAL RIDGE NATIONAL BANK, A BANKING CORPORATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR SEA TOWER LAND TRUST; ALMA DEERING FREEDMAN AND PATRICIA DEERING, APPELLEES/CROSS-APPELLANTS
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Sea Tower Apartments challenged a lease provision allowing annual rent adjustments based on a national wholesale price index, claiming unconscionability. The trial court granted involuntary dismissal after appellants presented their case, and the appellate court affirmed, finding appellants failed to establish a prima facie case for unconscionability.
The trial court did not err. Although the court correctly recognized that a motion for involuntary dismissal must be treated like a directed verdict motion and requires the court to determine only whether a prima facie case has been submitted, appellants failed to establish the elements of unconscionability beyond merely showing the presence of the cost-of-living clause.
[1] A motion for involuntary dismissal at the conclusion of a plaintiff's case in a bench trial must be treated the same as a motion for directed verdict in a jury trial.
[2] On a motion for involuntary dismissal, the trial court cannot weigh the evidence, resolve factual conflicts, or assess witness credibility.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The trial court is not entitled to weigh the evidence or resolve conflicts of facts or issues of credibility upon a motion for involuntary dismissal.”
Establishes the proper standard of review for involuntary dismissal motions—courts must only determine if a prima facie case exists, not weigh evidence or credibility.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSea Tower Apartments and individual lessees (Bradley and Fitchett) entered into a lease with Century National Bank as trustee and other defendants tha…
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PER CURIAM.
At issue is whether the trial court erred in granting a motion for involuntary dismissal against the appellants who sought to invalidate a provision in their lease with appellees which provided that the annual rental was to be adjusted at five year intervals in accordance with any increases in a national index of wholesale prices.
Initially, we agree with appellants that the trial court was obligated to treat the appellees’ motion for involuntary dismissal, made at the conclusion of the presentation of appellants’ case at the bench trial, in the same manner as a motion for directed verdict made in a jury trial. Panet v. Rexod Corp., 345 So. 2d 825 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977).
The trial court is not entitled to weigh the evidence or resolve conflicts of facts or issues of credibility upon a motion for involuntary dismissal. Further, the trial court should not consider whether the claimant has met his burden of proof, but rather should determine only whether the claimant has submitted a prima facie case. Panet v. Rexod, supra. If it is determined that the claimant has submitted competent proof on each element of the cause of action pleaded then a motion for involuntary dismissal must be denied. Upon review of the record here, however, and with particular concern for those portions cited by appellants, we find no violation of this principle by the trial court.
More importantly our review of the evidence presented by appellants also provides support for the trial court’s determination that appellants failed to establish a prima facie case. The elements of a cause of action for unconscionability are set out in this court’s decision in Kohl v. Bay Colony Club Condominium, Inc., 398 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). In Kohl we noted that there is nothing intrinsically unfair in the mere presence of a clause in a rental agreement providing for an increase in rents based upon some appropriate measure of increase in the cost of living.
However, the appellants, other than establishing the presence of such a clause, failed to submit proof of the other elements of unconscionability. Kohl, supra. In addition, proof was submitted in the appellants’ case-in-chief which tended to indicate, contrary to appellants’ allegations, that the increase in rent that occurred as a result of the cost of living clause was foreseeable. We also reject appellants’ contention that the absence of a cap on any rental increase in combination with a provision for a fixed minimum rent is unconscionable per se.
Accordingly, having reviewed the record and the evidence submitted by appellants and finding no error in the trial court’s ruling, the judgment is hereby affirmed.
ANSTEAD and BERANEK, JJ., and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Associate Judge, concur.
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Wimbledon Townhouse Condo. I v. Wolfson, 510 So. 2d 1106 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)…of the plaintiff’s case even though the trial court, as the trier of the fact, feels that the plaintiff has not sustained his burden of proof. Buchanan Construction, Inc. supra. We also held, in Sea Tower Apartments, Inc. v. Century National Bank, 406 So. 2d 69, 70 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), that [t]he trial court is not entitled to weigh the evidence or resolve conflicts of facts or issues of credibility upon a motion for involuntary dismissal. Further, the trial court should not consider whether the claimant…
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State v. Thibodeaux, 547 So. 2d 1243 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)…credible and that the appel [*1245] lants had failed to meet their burden proof. To reach these conclusions, the court had to weight the evidence, and in doing so it erred. Tillman; Murphy. See also Sea Tower Apartments, Inc. v. Century Nat’l Bank, 406 So. 2d 69 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Service Facilities Corp. v. Lanier, 371 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Buchanan Constr., Inc. v. City of Tallahassee, 308 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). We also must reject any contention that if an error occurred, it was ha…
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Miller v. Nifakos, 655 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…’s order granting appellees’ motion for involuntary dismissal in this breach of commercial lease action. A motion for involuntary dismissal must be denied if a plaintiff submits a prima facie case. Sea Tower Apartments, Inc. v. Century Nat’l Bank, 406 So. 2d 69, 70 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Moreover, in ruling on a motion for involuntary dismissal, the trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Saporito v. Madras, 576 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). To establish a breach of co…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Kohl v. BAY Colony Club Condo., Inc., 398 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Panet v. Rexod Corp., 345 So. 2d 825 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)