COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS BROKERS CORP., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
SAMUEL HELLER, APPELLEE
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Commercial International Business Brokers Corp. appealed a summary judgment granted in favor of Samuel Heller, a bankruptcy attorney who signed a listing contract on behalf of a corporation that had been dissolved at the time of signing. The court affirmed, holding that Heller was not personally liable because he acted with actual authority from the corporation's president and the parties did not intend to rely on Heller's personal responsibility.
Heller is not personally liable because: (1) he did not assume to act as a corporation without authority, as he was directed by the corporation's president to execute the document; (2) he was unaware of the dissolution; (3) the appellant knew Heller was acting as an agent for the corporation and did not rely on his personal responsibility; and (4) both parties intended the contract to be attributed to Thursday Night, Inc., not to Heller individually.
[1] A person who assumes to act as a corporation without authority to do so is jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities incurred as a result thereof.
[2] A person signing a contract as an agent for a corporation is not personally liable for corporate debts if the person was unaware of the corporation's dissolution and was…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“All persons who assume to act as a corporation without authority to do so shall be jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities incurred or arising as a result thereof.”
The statutory language invoked by appellant to impose liability, but the court found it inapplicable because Heller had actual authority from the corporation's president.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCommercial International Business Brokers Corp. (appellant) obtained a listing contract to sell Michael's Restaurant for $675,000, signed by Samuel He…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Commercial International Business Brokers Corp., appeals a final summary judgment in favor of appellee, Samuel Heller. This case arose out of a listing contract wherein a corporation, Thursday Night, Inc., gave appellant a listing to sell a business and beverage license known as Michael’s Restaurant for $675,000, “subject to approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.” The contract was signed “Thursday Night, Inc., by Samuel Heller, Attorney and Agent.” It appears that Heller was a bankruptcy lawyer representing the corporation in bankruptcy. Elaine Sherban, president of the appellant corporation, presented the contract to Heller, who was neither an officer nor a director of Thursday Night, Inc., and who had no authority to obligate the corporation. When Heller suggested he would send the contract to Michael Crocco, the president of Thursday Night, Inc., in New York, Sherban said no, she wanted it signed “now.” Consequently Heller called Crocco in New York and was directed by Crocco to sign the contract as agent for Thursday Night, Inc. At that time, unbeknown to Heller, Thursday Night, Inc., had been dissolved for failure to timely file the annual corporate report required by law.
Appellant sued Heller, Crocco and several others, seeking damages on the grounds of breach of contract, conspiracy, fraud and deceit. Both Heller and Crocco moved for summary judgment; Heller’s was granted, and Crocco’s was denied.
The appellate issue presented is whether a contract signed in the name of a corporation by an attorney and agent at a time when the corporation has been dissolved for nonpayment of capital stock tax renders the person signing as attorney and agent personally liable even though the corporation was subsequently reinstated.
Appellant relies upon sections 607.397 and 607.271(5), Florida Statutes (1983), as authority for rendering Heller liable under the circumstances of this case. We hold that reliance to be improvident. Section 607.397 provides:
All persons who assume to act as a corporation without authority to do so shall be jointly and severally liable for all debts and liabilities incurred or arising as a result thereof.
However, the record reflects that Heller did not assume to act as a corporation without authority to do so. He was unaware of the dissolution of the corporation and he was directed by the president of the corporation to execute the document for the corporation. There was no reliance by appellant upon Heller’s personal responsibility as appellant knew Heller was acting as agent for the corporation. The corporation itself purported to be the acting party. Thus, appellant’s reliance upon Mobil Oil Corp. v. Thoss, 385 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980), affords appellant no support.
Finally, in passing and without necessarily adopting that view, we note that the First District Court of Appeal in Futch v. Southern Stores, Inc., 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), appears to have imposed the requirement of fraud in situations involving sections 607.397 and 607.271(5). That court held:
[W]e believe the correct rule is that in the absence of any action inducing reliance on the individual assets of a person acting on behalf of a corporation, the plaintiff’s action should be limited to one against the corporation.
380 So. 2d at 446.
Suffice to say in this case neither Heller nor appellant ever intended the contract in question to be attributable to anyone but Thursday Night, Inc. Thus, there was no basis in the record to support the legal theories pleaded in the complaint.
AFFIRMED.
ANSTEAD, C.J., and DOWNEY and LETTS, JJ., concur.
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Wayne-Dalton Corp. v. Klinge, 506 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)…ation for an open account debt allegedly incurred while the corporation was dissolved. The trial court’s dismissal, which followed the close of plaintiff's case-in-chief, was predicated on Commercial International Business Brokers Corp. v. Heller, 479 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). From our review of the record, it appears that Heller is distinguishable in that the persons whose liability is sought in the present case were officers and stockholders of the dissolved corporation, allegedly assuming to act as…
Authorities Cited
- Mobil OIL Corp. v. Thoss, 385 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)
- Silas Gibson v. Ratcliff, 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)
- Zeph Futch v. S. Stores, Inc., 380 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)