SAMUEL CODOMO, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN CARROLL AND LUCILLE CARROLL, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES
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Samuel Codomo appealed a summary judgment establishing a California judgment in favor of Lucille Carroll as a Florida judgment. Codomo claimed the California judgment was obtained through fraud and conspiracy, but failed to substantiate any connection between his fraud allegations and the California case. The court affirmed the summary judgment, holding that mere assertions of fraud without factual support cannot prevent recognition of a foreign judgment.
A mere assertion of fraud in obtaining a foreign judgment, without substantiation or factual connection to the foreign proceeding, will not operate to prevent establishment of the foreign judgment as a Florida judgment. The summary judgment establishing the California judgment as a Florida judgment is affirmed, though the court modifies the judgment to reflect that only Lucille Carroll, not John Carroll, prevailed in the California case.
[1] A mere assertion of fraud in obtaining a foreign judgment, without substantiation, will not prevent its establishment as a domestic judgment.
[2] A party seeking to prevent the establishment of a foreign judgment must allege facts connecting the alleged conspiracy or fraud to the foreign judgment proceedings.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A mere assertion of fraud in obtaining a foreign judgment, without any substantiation whatsoever, will not operate to prevent establishment of the foreign judgment as a Florida judgment.”
Establishes the standard that fraud claims must be substantiated and cannot be mere assertions to defeat recognition of a foreign judgment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLucille Carroll obtained a judgment against Samuel Codomo in California. The Carrolls filed a complaint in Florida seeking to establish that Californi…
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RYDER, Judge.
Samuel Codomo appeals from the entry of a summary judgment in favor of John Carroll and Lucille Carroll, the plaintiffs below. We affirm.
The Carrolls had filed a complaint seeking to establish as a Florida judgment a judgment which was obtained in California by Lucille Carroll against appellant Codo-mo. Codorno denied the allegations of the complaint and asserted as an affirmative defense that the California judgment was based upon a fraudulent conspiracy involving the appellees and others. In a two- count counterclaim, Codorno alleged that: there was a conspiracy to injure his business and defraud him of property; the California judgment was obtained by fraud; the California court did not litigate the question of fraud; and the conspiracy “prevents any absolute obligation by the Florida courts to recognize said judgment.”
Subsequently, both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of both John Carroll and Lucille Carroll and denied appellant’s motion for summary judgment.
Appellant Codorno has claimed that there was a conspiracy to injure his business and defraud him of real estate located in Manatee County, Florida. Codo-rno then asserted as his conclusion that the California judgment was fraudulently obtained. Yet nowhere does appellant make any connection between the allegations of conspiracy and fraud and the assertion that the California judgment was obtained by fraud. Nor does the record support the conclusion reached by appellant. A mere assertion of fraud in obtaining a foreign judgment, without any substantiation whatsoever, will not operate to prevent establishment of the foreign judgment as a Florida judgment. See Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.110(b) and 1.120(b). While someone may have conspired against or defrauded appellant, appellant has failed to allege facts which would allow the conclusion that such a conspiracy or fraud was involved in the California case. The summary judgment against Codorno, establishing the California judgment as a Florida judgment, is supported by the record. See Newton v. Newton, 245 So. 2d 45 (Fla.1971); Berger v. Hollander, 391 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980).
The named plaintiffs in the California case, as in the case sub judice, were John Carroll and Lucille Carroll. However, the judgment in the California case was entered only in favor of Lucille Carroll. The trial court below granted the motion for summary judgment in favor of John Carroll and Lucille Carroll. The establishment of the California judgment as a Florida judgment must be in accordance with the actual California judgment; hence, we strike the name of John Carroll from the order below so that the order grants summary judgment only to Lucille Carroll.
It is also noted that the trial court ordered “defendant’s motion for summary judgment is not in the court file and apparently filed only within the last few days and is not' timely filed, is denied without prejudice.” [sic] We construe this portion of the order to mean that appellant’s counterclaim may be viable in a different proceeding and may be pursued accordingly.
As appellant has failed to demonstrate any reversible error, we AFFIRM the entry of summary judgment in favor of Lucille Carroll.
HOBSON, A.C.J., and GRIMES, J., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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THE Florida BAR v. Mogil, 763 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 2000)…o. 2d 626, 628 (Fla.1989) (upholding summary judgment where opposing party failed to demonstrate by affidavit or otherwise the existence of a genuine issue of material fact; holding that counsel’s mere assertion was insufficient); Codomo v. Carroll, 438 So. 2d 158, 159 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (affirming summary judgment establishing a foreign judgment as a Florida judgment, holding that “[a] mere assertion of fraud in obtaining a foreign judgment, without any substantiation whatsoever, will not operate to prevent…
Authorities Cited
- Uhlan Stanley Newton v. Newton, 245 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 1971)
- Alford Moten v. State, 391 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Berger v. Hollander, 391 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980)