ANDREW CHESNICK
v.
DEZER DEVELOPMENT, LLC, ETC., ET AL.,

Fla. 3d DCA | 2019-11-06
No. 18-1932
Per Curiam
Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2019)

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Synopsis

Andrew Chesnick appealed the trial court's dismissal of counts II and III of his amended complaint against Dezer Development. The court affirmed the dismissal of the civil conspiracy count but reversed the dismissal of the breach of personal guarantee count, finding the complaint contained sufficient allegations to survive a motion to dismiss.


Holding

The court reversed the dismissal of count II (breach of personal guarantee), holding that when all factual allegations in the complaint are taken as true and reasonable inferences are construed in favor of the non-moving party, the amended complaint contained sufficient allegations to withstand the motion to dismiss. The court affirmed the dismissal of count III without discussion.


Headnotes

[1] A motion to dismiss tests the legal sufficiency of a complaint, not factual issues.

[2] When ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court may not consider matters outside the four corners of the complaint.

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Key Quotes

“The purpose of a motion to dismiss is 'to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not to determine factual issues.'”

Establishes the limited scope of a motion to dismiss—it addresses legal sufficiency only, not facts

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Facts & Procedural History

Andrew Chesnick filed an amended complaint against Dezer Development, LLC and others containing claims including breach of personal guarantee (count I…

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Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of counts II and III of Andrew Chesnick’s amended complaint. We affirm the dismissal of count III, civil conspiracy, without further discussion as the parties neither briefed nor argued the issue on appeal. As to count II, breach of personal guarantee, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

The purpose of a motion to dismiss is “to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not to determine factual issues.” Fla. Bar v. Greene, 926 So. 2d 1195, 1199 (Fla. 2006). “Unlike a motion for summary judgment, when ruling on a motion to dismiss, ‘[a] court may not go beyond the four corners of the complaint in considering the legal sufficiency of the allegations.’” Rolle v. Cold Stone Creamery, Inc., 212 So. 3d 1073, 1076 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (quoting Pacific Ins. Co., Ltd., v. Botelho, D.O., 891 So. 2d 587, 590 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)). The trial court is precluded from considering the arguments of the parties that extend beyond the pleading. See Lewis v. Barnett Bank of S. Fla., N.A., 604 So. 2d 937, 938 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). “All [factual] allegations must be taken as true and any reasonable inferences drawn from the complaint must be construed in favor of the non-moving party.” Minor v. Brunetti, 43 So. 3d 178, 179 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (citing Chodorow v. Porto Vita, Ltd., 954 So. 2d 1240, 1242 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)). Taking the allegations in the amended complaint as true and viewing the inferences in the light most favorable to Mr. Chesnick, the amended complaint contained sufficient allegations of a breach of guarantee to withstand a motion to dismiss.1

Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.

Footnotes
1 Despite our holding, we express no opinion regarding the sufficiency of the breach of guarantee claim to withstand a motion for summary judgment.

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