AMERICAN REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
WESTCHESTER GENERAL HOSPITAL, APPELLEE
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American Republic Insurance Company appealed the trial court's denial of its motion to vacate a default judgment entered against it without notice. The court reversed, holding that a plaintiff cannot obtain a default judgment without notice against a defendant who has appeared in the case when the plaintiff has misled the defendant into believing settlement negotiations made filing responsive pleadings unnecessary.
A plaintiff may not obtain a default judgment without notice against a defendant who has made an appearance in the case and thereafter failed to file responsive pleadings when the plaintiff has misled the defendant into believing that filing was unnecessary because of ongoing settlement negotiations. The trial court's denial of the motion to vacate constituted a gross abuse of discretion.
[1] A plaintiff may not obtain a default judgment without notice against a defendant who has made an appearance and thereafter failed to file responsive pleadings when the pl…
[2] A party may be estopped from asserting legal rights to the detriment of another party when doing so would be unconscionable.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a party is estopped from asserting legal rights to the detriment of another party when to do so would be unconscionable”
Establishes the equitable estoppel principle that prevents a party from using misleading representations to gain procedural advantage
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring settlement negotiations between the parties, opposing counsel represented to American Republic Insurance Company that no default would be sough…
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BASKIN, Judge.
In an interlocutory appeal from an order denying its motion to vacate a default judgment entered against it by the trial court, American Republic Insurance Company cites its reliance upon representations by opposing counsel that no default would be sought during the pendency of settlement negotiations. American Republic contends that the trial court’s refusal to vacate the default judgment entered without notice constituted an abuse of discretion. We agree and reverse.
We hold, as we did in Rubensteln v. Richard Fidlin Corp., 346 So. 2d 89, 91 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977):
Ordinarily, a plaintiff may obtain a default judgment without notice against a party who has failed to file or serve any papers in the action. Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.500(b); Dade County v. Lambert, 334 So. 2d 844 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). In the instant case, however, the defendants were misled by the plaintiff into believing that it was unnecessary to file any responsive pleadings because of ongoing settlement negotiations....
Under these circumstances, we believe it was unconscionable for the plaintiff to take advantage of the defendants’ failure to file responsive pleadings by obtaining a default judgment without notice to the defendants. See: Johnson v. Buxton, 262 So. 2d 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972). The law is well-settled that a party is estopped from asserting legal rights to the detriment of another party when to do so would be unconscionable. See: Davis v. Evans, 132 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961).
We, therefore, hold that a plaintiff may not obtain a default judgment without notice against a defendant who has made an appearance in the case and thereafter failed to file or serve any papers in the case when the plaintiff has misled the defendant into believing that it was unnecessary to file any responsive pleadings because of ongoing settlement negotiations between the parties. Since the defendants made such an appearance and were so misled in this case, their motion to set aside the default judgment entered herein without notice should have been granted by the trial court.
Appellant’s defense appears to be meritorious and, because questions concerning whether to vacate a default should be resolved in favor of a trial on the merits, North Shore Hospital v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849 (Fla.1962), the trial court’s denial of the motion to vacate constituted a gross abuse of discretion.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Reicheinbach v. Se. Bank, N.A., 462 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…are resolved in favor of granting the application and permitting trial upon the merits. North Shore Hospital; Wien v. Quayside Realty, Inc., 462 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Perdue; American Republic Insurance Co. v. Westchester General Hospital; 414 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Dillon v. Machinery Wholesalers Corp., 414 So. 2d 1094 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). We are aware that appellant has failed to demonstrate a meritorious defense in support of his motion to vacate; nevertheless, the erroneous entry of the…
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Gables Club Marina, LLC v. The Gables Condo. & Club Ass'n, Inc., 948 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…ate a default entered in such a case. See Levante v. Corallo, 688 So. 2d 427, 428 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Cole v. Blackwell, Walker, Gray, Powers, Flick & Hoehl, 523 So. 2d 725, 725-26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Am. Republic Ins. Co. v. Westchester Gen. Hosp., 414 So. 2d 1163, 1163-64 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Rubenstein v. Richard Fidlin Corp., 346 So. 2d 89, 90-91 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Weeks Cartage, Inc. v. CSX Transp., 547 So. 2d 237, 238 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); but cf. George v. Radcliffe, 753 So. 2d 573, 574 (Fla. 4th DCA 199…
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Brent D. Schlapper, D.O. v. Maurer, 687 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)…nsibility owed to the court and the opposing parties imposed on him an obligation not to lie about or misrepresent facts critical to the case. (emphasis added) The dissent relies upon American Republic Insurance Co. v. Westchester General Hospital, 414 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) and Rubenstein v. Richard Fidlin Corp., 346 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), as being distinguishable from this case because those cases involved misrepresentations of procedural matters. The key issue in those cases is not that they…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- N. Shore Hosp., Inc. v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849 (Fla. 1962)
- Davis v. Evans, 132 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961)
- Dade Cnty. v. Lambert, 334 So. 2d 844 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
- Rubenstein v. Richard Fidlin Corp. & Richard Fidlin, 346 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- Palmer Johnson, Inc. v. Buxton, 262 So. 2d 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)