DOUGLAS J. DEVOS AND DEVOS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANTS,
v.
STEEL FABRICATORS, INC., APPELLEE
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Steel Fabricators sued Douglas Devos individually on a promissory note and Devos Construction Company on an account stated for the same amount. The trial court granted summary judgment for Steel Fabricators on the promissory note count, but the appellate court reversed, finding that summary judgment was premature because affirmative defenses were filed after the summary judgment motion was heard and factual issues existed regarding whether the note was merely a personal guarantee of the corporation's debt.
Summary judgment should not have been granted on Count I because the two counts are related, affirmative defenses were filed before final judgment was entered raising factual issues, and the plaintiff failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of fact existed when the summary judgment motion was filed before the defendant's answer.
[1] A motion for summary judgment filed before a defendant's answer is filed places a burden on the plaintiff to demonstrate with certainty that no genuine issue of fact can…
[2] Summary judgment may be premature when related counts in a complaint present factual issues that have not been fully resolved.
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“summary judgment should not have been granted on Count I because the two counts are related, and it cannot be said with any degree of certainty that no factual issues exist”
Establishes the core holding that summary judgment was improper given the interconnected nature of the two counts and existing factual disputes
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSteel Fabricators filed a two-count complaint seeking $99,686.56 from Douglas Devos individually on a promissory note (Count I) and from Devos Constru…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellee, Steel Fabricators, Inc., filed a two count complaint against appellants, Douglas Devos and Devos Construction Company. Count I sought recovery of $99,686.56 from Douglas Devos individually based upon a promissory note, while Count II sought recovery of the same amount against Devos Construction Company for an account stated alleging an agreement to pay pursuant to a letter from appellant to appellee. From a summary judgment in favor of appellee and against Douglas Devos as to Count I only, the appellants have perfected this appeal.
Appellants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, together with a counterclaim for damages against appellee arising out of negligent bidding procedures. While said motions were pending and before an answer and affirmative defenses were filed, appellee moved for summary judgment on Count I. After the hearing on the motion for summary judgment was held, but prior to entry of the final summary judgment thereon, appellants filed their answer and several affirmative defenses wherein it was claimed that the alleged promissory note, which is the subject of Count I, was merely a personal assurance furnished by Devos, individually, to guarantee the obligations of the corporation arising out of various construction jobs for which Devos Construction Company was indebted to appellee. The instrument, it was alleged, was only intended, and so described, as a personal assurance of the debt of Devos.
The problem in this case arises from the fact that the answer and affirmative defenses were not filed when the motion for summary judgment on Count I was filed or heard and thus they were not considered by the trial judge in resolving the motion in favor of appellee. Thus, ostensibly all the record shows is a count on a promissory note, an affidavit supporting the note, the amount due and its nonpayment. However, appellants contend the complaint and exhibits indicate that the note was simply a personal assurance or guarantee of the corporate obligation contained in Count II and was, therefore, subject to any defenses that Devos might have to the primary obligation alleged in Count II, such as attorney’s fees and the interest rate. The affirmative defenses on file prior to entry of the final summary judgment allege that the parties never agreed to any interest rate or to the payment of attorney’s fees.
Regardless of the eventual outcome of this litigation, summary judgment should not have been granted on Count I because the two counts are related, and it cannot be said with any degree of certainty that no factual issues exist. The two counts seek recovery of the same money that arose out of the same delinquent contracts, one of which was the contract that is the subject of the counterclaim.1 Furthermore, if the answer and affirmative defenses had been filed prior to the summary judgment motion, appellee would have been required to dispose of any fact issues raised thereby before summary judgment would have been appropriate. In addition, since the motion for summary judgment was filed prior to the defendant’s answer’s being filed, appellee had the burden of demonstrating to a certainty that defendant could file no answer that would present a genuine issue of fact. Gutterman-Musicant-Kreitzman, Inc. v. I.G. Realty Company, 426 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). This is one of the hazards of a plaintiff’s moving for summary judgment before a defendant’s answer is filed.
Thus, in view of the posture of this record, we believe summary judgment was premature and that issues of fact appear to exist necessitating further proceedings on Count I as well as Count II.
Accordingly, the summary judgment on Count I is reversed and the cause is remanded for further proceedings on both counts of this complaint.
DOWNEY, LETTS and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur. BY ORDER OF THE COURT:
ORDERED that Appellee’s June 21, 1985 Motion for Rehearing of order granting appellant’s attorney’s fees is granted. The June 12, 1985 order granting attorney’s fees to appellant’s counsel is vacated; further
ORDERED that the motion for attorney’s fees filed by appellant’s counsel is hereby denied.
. Appellee's brief states that particular contract had been paid by the owner. However, when the note and written agreement upon which this suit is based were executed, it had not been fully retired.
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Valhalla, Inc. v. Carbo, 487 So. 2d 1125 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…den of conclusively establishing that no answer which the defendants might properly serve could present a genuine issue of material fact. The appellant argues that the latter is the correct standard. We agree and reverse. Devos v. Steel Fabricators, 473 So. 2d 1320 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); South Florida Water Management District v. Muroff, 450 So. 2d 1258 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Gutterman v. Musicant-Kreitzman, 426 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). Accordingly, the judgment granting a Summary Judgment to the appelle…
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Howell v. Brock, 530 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)…ponent. Harvey Building, Inc. v. Haley, 175 So. 2d 780 (Fla.1965). Where the defendant has asserted affirmative defenses, the plaintiff must dispose of any fact issues raised thereby before being entitled to relief. Devos v. Steel Fabricators, Inc., 473 So. 2d 1320 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); O’Neal v. Brady, 476 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). Here, the appellee did not meet his required burden. His affidavit merely stated, in a conclusory fashion, that he had satisfactorily performed the contract. He made no attemp…
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Allan Serchay and former Director of Allan Serchay v. NTS Fort Lauderdale Off. Joint Venture, 657 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…aterial fact dispute and to disprove fact matters raised as defenses. Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966); Galloway v. Law Offices of Merkle, Bright & Sullivan, P.A., 596 So. 2d 1205, 1206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); Devos v. Steel Fabricators, Inc., 473 So. 2d 1320, 1322 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); Lenhal Realty, Inc. v. Transamerica Commercial Finance Corp., 615 So. 2d 207, 208 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). It appears that the demised space which the Appellants are to maintain under the lease does not include those portions…
Authorities Cited
- Gutterman-Musicant-Kreitzman, Inc. v. I.G. Realty Co., 426 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)