LINDA A. MERSLICH, APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
SUZANNE SCHNELLENBERGER, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
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PER CURIAM.
The evidence supports the trial court’s extensive findings of fact that the appellee was defrauded by the appellant of $50,566.84 from a Totten Trust, and the court’s award of $25,000 in punitive damages. Findings of fact by a trial judge in a nonjury case will not be set aside on review unless they are totally unsupported by competent and substantial evidence. Laufer v. Norma Fashions, Inc., 418 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).
No reversible error is shown m the trial court’s refusal to award treble damages in addition to punitive damages. The cross-appellee, a relative of the cross-appellant, induced the latter into executing bank documents which effectively divided the account equally among the three heirs of the settlor. Although the court concluded in its written judgment that the cross-appellee “committed theft ... in the form of a larceny by trick,” evidence of the criminal mens rea necessary to theft is not to be found in the record. Proof of a fraud, alone, does not justify an award of treble damages under the civil theft statute. See Bertoglio v. American Sav. & Loan Ass’n of Fla., 491 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (finding of conversion alone does not justify an award of treble damages).
Affirmed.
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Zerquera v. Centennial Homeowners' Ass'n, Inc., 721 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…ng of pickup trucks in the communi-ty_ The Court concludes the imposition of the fines was proper. These findings of fact are supported by competent substantial evidence and, as such, may not be disturbed on review. See Merslich v. Schnellenberger, 578 So. 2d 725, 726 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 591 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 1991). Implicit in these findings is the conclusion that the Board did not represent that construction of the fence would correct the violation regarding Zerquera’s truck. Accordingly, there is…
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Schnellenberger v. Merslich, 622 So. 2d 148 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)…not only did Merslich appeal several aspects of the final judgment, but Schnellen-berger cross-appealed the denial of treble damages. This court affirmed, in all respects, on both the direct appeal and cross-appeal. See Merslich v. Schnellenberger, 578 So. 2d 725-26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991). Unfortunately, the parties thereafter improperly relied on dicta in that opinion, and operated under the misapprehension that our affirmance of the denial of treble damages was tantamount to a reversal of the civil theft find…
Authorities Cited
- Laufer v. Norma Fashions, Inc., 418 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- Bertoglio v. Am. Sav. & Loan Ass'n OF Fla. & Shepard Broad, 491 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)