INTERNATIONAL IMAGE MAKERS, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
RONALD LEVITT ASSOCIATES, INC. AND TUCKER STATE BANK, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
International Image Makers, Inc. (Florida) appealed a garnishment judgment against Tucker State Bank, claiming the original judgment should have been against the Utah corporation. The court affirmed, holding that by failing to timely raise the defense of improper party and appeal the initial judgment, the Florida corporation allowed the judgment to crystallize and could not later challenge it during garnishment proceedings.
No. The court held that by failing to raise the defense that an improper party was sued through motion or answer, and by not moving to vacate or appeal the final judgment, International Image Makers allowed the judgment to crystallize into finality. Therefore, the attempt to raise the defense during garnishment proceedings was untimely and unavailing.
[1] A party waives the defense of being an improper party if it fails to raise the defense by motion or answer.
[2] A final judgment becomes final and unassailable if no motion to vacate, modify, or amend is filed, and no appeal is taken.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“there was never a defense raised that the wrong corporation had been sued. There was no motion to alter or vacate the final judgment and no appeal taken. Consequently, the final judgment crystallized into finality.”
Establishes the core holding that failure to timely raise the improper party defense results in crystallization of the judgment and bars later challenges.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRonald Levitt Associates, Inc. sued International Image Makers, Inc. for breach of contract, alleging it was a Florida corporation. During the case, I…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Garnishment cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Ronald Levitt Associates, Inc. brought this action for breach of contract against International Image Makers, Inc. alleging that it was a Florida corporation. International Image Makers, Inc. did not raise the defense that it was an improper party by motion or by answer. Ultimately International Image Makers, Inc. made an offer for the plaintiff to take an agreed judgment against “International Image Makers, Inc., a Utah corporation.” The final judgment was entered against International Image Makers, Inc. without indicating the place of incorporation. There was no effort made to vacate, modify, or amend that final judgment and no appeal was taken from it. Plaintiff then filed and served a motion for garnishment after judgment against Tucker State Bank, which filed an answer admitting that it had on deposit funds belonging to the account of International Image Makers, Inc., a Florida corporation. It was then for the first time that International Image Makers, Inc., a Florida corporation, filed a motion to dissolve the garnishment on the basis that it was error to enter final judgment of garnishment because the final judgment entered on the parties’ offer and acceptance should have only authorized the judgment against the Utah corporation. The motion to dissolve was denied and a final judgment in garnishment entered from which International Image Makers, Inc. appeals. Appellant cites Ahmed v. Lane Pontiac-Buick, Inc., 527 So. 2d 930 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) for the proposition that the trial court could not impair the settlement as agreed to by the parties. The Ahmed decision, however, has no application to the resolution of the present controversy. Here, there was never a defense raised that the wrong corporation had been sued. There was no motion to alter or vacate the final judgment and no appeal taken.
Consequently, the final judgment crystallized into finality. See Conner v. Northeastern Int’l Airways, Inc., 543 So. 2d 397 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Hamilton v. Hanks, 309 So. 2d 229 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); see also Wagner v. Bieley, Wagner & Assoc., Inc., 263 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1972).
Hence, no defense has been raised to the action against International Image Makers, Inc., a Florida corporation, and the answer of the garnishee admitted it had funds on deposit belonging to the Florida corporation.
Thus, the attempt to raise the claim was untimely and unavailing.
The trial court properly construed the final judgment against International Image Makers, Inc. as being against a Florida corporation based on the allegations of the complaint and the failure of the corporation to raise its defense until the time of the garnishment proceedings.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Wagner v. Bieley, 263 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1972)
- Hamilton v. Hanks, 309 So. 2d 229 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- Sheikh Ahmed v. Lane Pontiac-Buick, Inc., 527 So. 2d 930 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- F.A. Conner v. Ne. Int'l Airways, Inc., 543 So. 2d 397 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)