HARPER COMPANIES, INC., D/B/A MINKA, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND MARY LEE HARPER, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLANTS,
v.
SCOTT, ROYCE, HARRIS, BRYAN, BARRA & JORGENSEN, P.A., A FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, AND JOHN M. JORGENSEN, INDIVIDUALLY, VIA MIZNER ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, A DELAWARE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, BY AND THROUGH ITS GENERAL PARTNER, VIA MIZNER OF WORTH AVENUE, INC., AND IAN KEAN, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1995-07-05
No. 94-1293
WARNER and KLEIN, JJ., concur.
656 So. 2d 627 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Harper Companies appealed the dismissal of their second amended complaint against attorneys and a judgment creditor who allegedly orchestrated a wrongful seizure of consignment merchandise. The Fourth District reversed in part, holding that while the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim was properly dismissed with prejudice, the wrongful execution claim should have been dismissed without prejudice to allow for further amendment.


Holding

The court affirmed dismissal with prejudice of the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim but reversed the dismissal with prejudice of the wrongful execution claim, holding that dismissal with prejudice was an abuse of discretion where appellants might allege additional facts or pursue a different legal theory (such as abuse of process).


Headnotes

[1] A claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress requires conduct that is extreme and outrageous.

[2] Dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion when a party may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or another cause of action.

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Key Quotes

“It is well-settled that where a party may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or even to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion.”

Establishes the legal standard that dismissal with prejudice is improper when a party might cure defects through amendment or pursue alternative theories.

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Facts & Procedural History

Harper Companies operated a consignment store on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. A sheriff's levy executed a judgment against Harper Galleries, Inc. (a pr…

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Opinion of the Court
STEVENSON, Judge.

STEVENSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final order of the trial court dismissing with prejudice appellants’ second amended complaint. Because we determine that appellants should have been given at least one more opportunity to state a cause of action on one of the counts dismissed, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

Appellants, Harper Companies, Inc. and Mary Lee Harper, operate a consignment store on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. This action arises from a sheriffs levy of personal property in appellants’ custody which included contemporary and antique furnishings and accessories. The writ of execution was obtained in connection with a final judgment for eviction and unpaid lease payments entered against Harper Galleries, Inc. (apparently, a predecessor corporation to Harper Companies, Inc.).

In summary, appellants allege that appel-lees — the judgment creditor, its agent and its attorneys — acting in concert, sent written instructions to the sheriff to levy on all property found in the custody of appellants and specifically, property held at a certain leased warehouse. The complaint maintained that all of the appellees knew beforehand that the property which was going to be seized was not properly subject to levy or execution, but was held by appellants on consignment from others and was not owned by the judgment debtor, Harper Galleries, Inc. The complaint charges that the appellees’ true intentions in giving the sheriff instructions to levy the property was simply to harass appellants and confiscate appellants’ inventory prior to the “season” beginning in Palm Beach so that appellants’ consignment store business would be destroyed and their reputation ruined.

Appellants, in count one of their second amended complaint, brought a claim for wrongful execution and seizure of property against Via Mizner Associates Limited Partnership (“Via Mizner”), the judgment creditor; Ian Kean, Via Mizner’s agent; John M. Jorgensen, the attorney for Via Mizner; and Scott, Royce, Harris, Bryan, Barra & Jor-gensen, P.A., (hereinafter “Scott, Royce”) the law firm representing Via Mizner. In count two appellants brought a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against Via Mizner and Ian Kean. The trial court dismissed count one with leave to amend as to Via Mizner, but dismissed the count with prejudice as to Kean, John Jorgensen, and Scott, Royce. The trial court dismissed count two with prejudice as to both Via Miz-ner and Kean.

We affirm the dismissal of count two with prejudice because we agree with the trial court that the activities complained of could not rise to the level of being so extreme or outrageous as to permit a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. For a general discussion concerning the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, as it exists in Florida, see Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. McCarson, 467 So. 2d 277 (Fla.1985).

We also agree that the trial court was correct in dismissing count one. However, we find that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the claims with prejudice. It is well-settled that where a party may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or even to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion. See generally, Kovach v. McLellan, 564 So. 2d 274 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Delia & Wilson, Inc. v. Wilson, 448 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). Based on the allegations contained in the second amended complaint, appellants should have been given another opportunity to attempt to state a properly cognizable cause of action. We note that appellants’ factual allegations sound more in abuse of process than wrongful execution — a comment we make more for the benefit of the trial judge than appellants.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

WARNER and KLEIN, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Kenneth Kapley, D.D.S. v. Borchers, 714 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
    …ditional facts to support its cause of action or to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion. See Harper Companies v. Scott, Royce, Harris, Bryan, Barra, & Jorgensen, P.A., 656 So. 2d 627 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Kovach v. McLellan, 564 So. 2d 274 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). While it may have been proper to dismiss the complaint against appellee individually for failure to state a cause of action, we conclude it was an abuse of discretion to do…
  • Becklund v. Fleming, 869 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …ditional facts to support its cause of action or to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion. See Harper Companies v. Scott, Royce, Harris, Bryan, Barra, & Jorgensen, P.A., 656 So. 2d 627 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Kovach v. McLellan, 564 So. 2d 274 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). Therefore, unless we are able to conclude that the Creditor is unable to plead any facts that would entitle her to relief, we are required to give her an opportunity to do…
  • Mancinelli v. Davis, 217 So. 3d 1034 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
    …e additional facts to support its cause of action or even to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion.” Harper Cos. v. Scott, Royce, Harris, Bryan, Barra & Jorgensen, P.A., 656 So. 2d 627, 629 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). Because C3 was not given any opportunity to amend its complaint, and it is unclear whether C3 could potentially state a legally sufficient claim, we reverse and remand for C3 to be given the opportunity to amend. See Bryant…

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