FRED D. ALLMAN AND BARBARA ALLMAN, APPELLANTS,
v.
NORMA WOLFE, LOUIS MINTRONE AND KAREN MINTRONE, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 1992-02-07
No. 91-00367
RYDER, A.C.J., and LEHAN, J., concur.
592 So. 2d 1261 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1992) 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

The Allmans appealed the dismissal of the Mintrones from a lawsuit brought by Wolfe over the rescission of an assignment of an agreement for deed. The court reversed, holding that the Mintrones, as parties to the original transaction and holders of legal title to the property, are indispensable parties who cannot be dismissed.


Holding

The Mintrones are indispensable parties to this action. As parties to the transaction and holders of legal title, they cannot be dismissed because a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights between the other parties is not possible without them.


Headnotes

[1] A party is indispensable if their interest in the subject matter is such that a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights between the other parties…

[2] In an action seeking rescission of a transaction, all parties to that transaction are indispensable parties.

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“As a general rule an indispensable party is one whose interest in the subject matter is such that if he is not joined a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights between the other parties is not possible.”

Establishes the legal standard for determining whether a party is indispensable

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

In 1989, Fred Allman entered into an agreement for deed with the Mintrones to purchase a residence. In 1990, the Allmans assigned their interests to N…

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.


Opinion of the Court
PARKER, Judge.

PARKER, Judge.

Fred D. Allman and Barbara Allman appeal a final summary judgment which dismissed Louis Mintrone and Karen Mintrone as parties. We reverse, concluding that the Mintrones are indispensable parties.

In 1989, Fred Allman entered into an agreement for deed with the Mintrones to purchase a residence. The agreement provided that the Mintrones would convey fee simple title in the property to Mr. Allman by warranty deed after he performed his covenants under the agreement. In 1990, Fred Allman and Barbara Allman assigned their interests in the agreement for deed to Norma Wolfe, and Wolfe agreed to assume and perform all duties and obligations owed by Mr. Allman under the terms of the agreement for deed. The Allmans, the Mintrones, and Wolfe signed the assignment. In addition to the assignment, the Mintrones executed a document releasing Mr. Allman from all duties and obligations owing under the agreement for deed.

Wolfe thereafter filed a complaint against Mr. Allman, seeking damages and rescission of the assignment of agreement for deed. Mr. Allman filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that Wolfe failed to join indispensable parties, namely Barbara All-man, Louis Mintrone, and Karen Mintrone. Mr. Allman attached a copy of the executed assignment of agreement for deed to his motion. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss the complaint. Wolfe subsequently filed an amended complaint against the Allmans and the Mintrones, which alleged that Mr. Allman made false representations to her about the property that she had purchased. Wolfe further alleged that the Mintrones are the record title holders of this property; thus, they are subject to Wolfe’s unrecorded equitable interest.

The Mintrones filed their answer, admitting that there was an agreement for deed between Mr. Allman and the Mintrones for the property and that there was an assignment of interest from the Allmans to Wolfe. They further admitted that they “are the record title holders of this property.” Shortly thereafter, the Mintrones filed a motion for final summary judgment, contending that the pleadings and documents of record showed “that there is no issue as to any material fact regarding [them],” and that no cause of action against them was stated in either law or fact. Thus they asserted that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court granted the Mintrones’ motion for summary judgment.

The Allmans contend, and Wolfe agrees, that the Mintrones, as holders of legal title to the property and parties to the assignment of the agreement for deed, are indispensable parties to this action; therefore, the court erred in dismissing them. We agree. “As a general rule an indispensable party is one whose interest in the subject matter is such that if he is not joined a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights between the other parties is not possible.” Grammer v. Roman, 174 So. 2d 443, 445 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965) (citations omitted). In an action for rescission of a transaction, the parties to the transaction are indispensable. Fireman’s Ins. Co. of Newark, N.J. v. Vento, 586 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Coast Cities Coaches, Inc. v. Whyte, 130 So. 2d 121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961).

In the instant case, Wolfe prayed for rescission of the transaction. The Allmans, the Mintrones, and Wolfe were all parties to the transaction. In fact, the Mintrones had signed a document releasing the All-mans from the duties and obligations under the agreement for deed. Accordingly, we conclude that the Mintrones are indispensable parties to this transaction.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

RYDER, A.C.J., and LEHAN, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • D.F. v. Dep't OF Revenue ex rel. L.F., 736 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)
    …rnal grandparents, the grandparents are not parties whose interest in the subject matter is such that a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights of the other parties is not possible without their joinder.2 See Allman v. Wolfe, 592 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). The child support guidelines were properly calculated without the grandparents’ join-der based upon the incomes of the two parents responsible for the support of the child, and any information they possessed regarding special nee…
  • Dep't OF Revenue v. James (Willie) Cummings, 871 So. 2d 1055 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)
    …e subject matter is such that if he is not joined a complete and efficient determination of the equities and rights between the other parties is not possible.” Amerada Hess Corp. v. Morgan, 426 So. 2d 1122, 1125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Allman v. Wolfe, 592 So. 2d 1261, 1263 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). These paternity cases seek to determine the man who has a legal duty to support [*1059] the children involved. See § 409.2564(1), Fla. Stat. (2002) (requiring Department of Revenue to institute “action as is necessary to s…
  • Bryant v. State, 102 So. 3d 660 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)
    …motion in the same case.” In fact, most, if not all of our decisions from 1984 to the early 1990s followed the rule announced in Gobie. See Ross v. State, 598 So. 2d 149, 149 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) (adopting the holding in Braxton); Rodriquez v. State, 592 So. 2d 1261, 1261 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) (adopting the holding in Braxton, though noting that the two motions raised essentially the same allegations); Ruth, 635 So. 2d at 1061 (holding no trial court jurisdiction during pending postconviction appeal, citing Braxto…
    1 / 2

Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw