DELTA INFORMATION SERVICES, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
JOSEPH R. JANNACH, M.D. & ASSOCIATES, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1990-11-13
Nos. 90-191, 90-340
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and BARKDULL and NESBITT, JJ.
569 So. 2d 1353 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1990) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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.

Synopsis

Delta Information Services appeals sanctions imposed for willfully failing to comply with discovery orders in a dispute with a medical group over computerized billing services. The court affirmed dismissal of Delta's contract fee claim and entry of liability on the medical group's counterclaim for an accounting of allegedly missing collections, finding Delta's repeated non-compliance with discovery orders over two and a half years justified the sanctions.


Holding

The court affirmed the sanctions orders, holding that Delta's failure to satisfactorily explain its non-compliance with five discovery orders, its failure to appear at a properly noticed hearing, and its persistent non-response to discovery over two and a half years justified the entry of sanctions including dismissal of the complaint and liability on the counterclaim.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may sever an equity claim for accounting from claims for damages and order that the accounting issues be determined initially.

[2] A party's failure to comply with multiple discovery orders, including an agreed order, over an extended period, may warrant dismissal of its complaint.

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Key Quotes

“the appellant having failed to satisfactorily explain why it did not comply with the requested discovery, why it failed to appear at a properly noticed hearing, and why it did not respond to discovery over a period of two and a half years, contrary to five orders requiring such”

Establishes the court's basis for affirming sanctions: Delta's persistent non-compliance with multiple discovery orders over an extended period without adequate explanation.

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Facts & Procedural History

Delta's predecessor contracted with the medical group to provide computerized billing and collection services from 1981 to 1984. The medical group ter…

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Opinion of the Court
BARKDULL, Judge.

BARKDULL, Judge.

The appellee medical group contracted with the appellant’s predecessor for a computerized billing and collection service as related to its patients. The appellant undertook to perform these services from 1981 to 1984 when the contract was terminated by the medical group because the service was unsatisfactory.

The appellant commenced an action to recover its contract fee of 10% on the amounts collected, alleging that the contract was wrongfully terminated and that the medical group withheld funds from it. This complaint was met by an answer and compulsory counterclaim for an accounting of some $1,700,000 in allegedly missing collections, out of total billings in excess of $4,000,000. After the cause of action was at issue, the trial court severed the equity claim for accounting from the claims for damages and ordered that the accounting issues would be determined initially. Following a bench trial, the trial court ordered an accounting.2

In an attempt to achieve the accounting, the appellee sought certain discovery from the appellant relating to the various records of the accounts processed by the appellant. No discovery was forthcoming, notwithstanding at least five orders to comply with same, one of which was an agreed order regarding discovery.3

After the time to produce under the agreed order had expired, and no production was forthcoming, the matter came on for hearing upon a motion for sanctions, for failure to make discovery, whereupon the trial court entered an order granting an additional ten days for the appellant to comply with the order to account. Once again no discovery was forthcoming, and the matter recurred on another motion for sanctions, whereupon an order was entered dismissing the appellee’s complaint, which order also found liability in favor of the appellee on the counterclaim. Subsequently, final judgment was entered reflecting these sanctions.4 These appeals ensued. One claimed error in the entry of the order on sanctions as to the appellant’s complaint, and the other claimed error in the entry of the order finding liability in favor of the counter-plaintiff. Under the circumstances, we find no error in either order; the appellant having failed to satisfactorily explain why it did not comply with the requested discovery, why it failed to appear at a properly noticed hearing, and why it did not respond to discovery over a period of two and a half years, contrary to five orders requiring such. See Gomez v. Pujols, 546 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Georges v. Insurance Technicians, Inc., 448 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), and Akers v. Corbett, 138 Fla. 730, 190 So. 28 (1939); F.A. Chastain Construction, Inc. v. Pratt, 146 So. 2d 910 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962); Cushman v. Schubert, 110 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 2d DCA 1959).

Therefore, the orders under review be and the same are hereby affirmed.

. The appellant also raised a question as to the order for the accounting, but waived any complaint as to this order in its reply brief.

. "ORDERED and ADJUDGED that: Plaintiff/Counterdefendant, Delta Information Systems ("Delta") shall fully comply with the Final Judgment on Accounting within ten (10) days of November 14, 1989. If Delta fails to fully comply with the final judgment on Accounting within this time period, sanctions shall be entered against Delta for costs and attorneys fees incurred by Jannach in connection with its motion to compel and for sanctions heard on November 14, 1989 and any further motions necessitated by Delta's failure to comply with the Final Judgment on Accounting.”

.The order as to the counterclaim also provided the following prohibition against using material that should have been discovered: "Delta shall not be allowed to introduce any evidence during the trial on damages which would otherwise have been disclosed to Jannach through an accounting as ordered by this Court in its Final Judgment on Accounting.”


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Citator

Cited By

  • Rose v. Clinton, 575 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …nference. . The Order on Status Conference states that the sanction was "tantamount to ... a [djefault.” .We find that the sanctions were commensurate with the discovery violations. Delta Information Serv., Inc. v. Joseph R. Jannach M.D. & Assoc., 569 So. 2d 1353 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990).…
  • John E. Bator in Bankr. for Radicon Corp., Inc. v. Gould, 585 So. 2d 1195 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …er v. Raine, 443 So. 2d 944 (Fla.1983); Rose v. Clinton, 575 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Nob Hill at Welleby, Ltd. v. Resolution Trust Corp., 573 So. 2d 952 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Delta Information Servs., Inc. v. Joseph R. Jannach, M.D. & Assocs., 569 So. 2d 1353 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Johnson v. Allstate Ins. Co., 410 So. 2d 978 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).…
  • Scott G. Kranz and IMG v. Levan, 602 So. 2d 668 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
    …violations did not preclude the imposition of the default sanction against the plaintiffs for the discovery order violations in this case. Mercer v. Raine, 443 So. 2d 944, 946 (Fla.1983); Delta Info. Serv., Inc. v. Joseph R. Jannach, M.D. & Assoc., 569 So. 2d 1353 (Fla.3d DCA 1990); Gomez v. Pujols, 546 So. 2d 734 (Fla.3d DCA 1989); Dominguez v. Wolfe, 524 So. 2d 1101 (Fla.3d DCA 1988); F. Food Co. v. Hart Properties, Inc., 515 So. 2d 279 (Fla.3d DCA 1987), rev. denied, 523 So. 2d 577 (Fla.1988); HZJ, Inc. v.…

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