JOSE LUIS SERNA, APPELLANT,
v.
ARDE APPAREL, INC., APPELLEE
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.
Affirmed judgment against Serna for liability under section 673.403 for dishonored checks, rejecting his argument that a prior case statement about when substantive rights accrue controlled the applicable statute.
A person's liability for dishonored checks is controlled by the statute in effect when the checks were dishonored, not when suit is filed, and rights accrue when the last element of the cause of action occurs, not when an action is brought.
[1] Legal rights for purposes of determining applicable statute accrue when the last element necessary to constitute the cause of action occurs, not when an action is brought…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“legal rights accrue and are fixed, not when an action is brought to enforce them, but rather when 'the last element necessary to constitute the cause of action occurs.'”
Court explaining the settled law governing when legal rights accrue for purposes of determining applicable statute.
Serna, president of Jemaros Investments, Inc., signed checks that were presented and dishonored in 1992. Suit was filed on June 29, 1993, after a new …
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Dishonored Checks cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
Under circumstances identical to those involved in Serna v. Milanese, Inc., 643 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 3d DCA1994), the same person, Serna, who was president of the corporation, signed checks of Jemaros Investments, Inc., which were presented and dishonored in 1992.
Accordingly, as we held in Sema, and as the trial court correctly held here, his liability was controlled and arose under section 673.403, Florida Statutes (1991), and was not affected by section 673.4021 (1993), which became effective on January 1, 1993. Because, however, the present action was not itself filed until June 29, 1993, Serna claims the inapplicability of the prior ease because of its statement that “Milanese’s substantive right to collect treble damages on the worthless checks under section 673.403(2) arose in September 1992, when it brought suit to enforce its right.” Serna, 643 So. 2d at 38 (emphasis supplied).
We reject this contention.
It is apparent that the statement relied upon — which is purely dictum upon which nothing in that case turned — was no more than an inadvertent and legally incorrect slip of the word processor. It is settled law that legal rights accrue and are fixed, not when an action is brought to enforce them, but rather when “the last element necessary to constitute the cause of action occurs.” Birnholz v. Blake, 399 So. 2d 375, 377 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Envases Venezolanos v. Collazo, 559 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). Since those operative events in this ease — -the dishonor of the worthless checks resulting in damages to the appellee — occurred before January 1,1993, the holding of Serna directly applies.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Hind-Marsh v. Puglia, 665 So. 2d 1091 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…e trial judge entered judgment in Puglia’s favor without giving any reasons for his decision. The relevant and controlling statute at the time the cause of action arose was section 673.403, Florida Statutes (1985). See Serna v. Arde Apparel, Inc., 657 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (holding that dishonor of checks later sued upon is event giving rise to cause of action). That section provides that an authorized representative, such as Puglia, who signs his name to an instrument “is personally obligated if th…
-
Agricola DE LOS Alisos Ltda. v. Zamarano, 665 So. 2d 1088 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge. The controlling facts and legal issues in this case are identical to those in Serna v. Arde Apparel, Inc., 657 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), which was released on the same day that the trial judge quite understandably ruled to the contrary of its holding. On the authority of that decision, the summary judgment rendered for the appellee Zamarano on the dishonored check…
-
BAL Harbour Vill. v. Welsh, 879 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)…ext. See Serna v. Milanese, 643 So. 2d at 37 (considering whether section 673.4021, Florida Statutes (1993), which absolved corporate officers from liability for signing corporate checks, could be retroactively applied), Serna v. Arde Apparel, Inc., 657 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (same); Winston Towers, 360 So. 2d at 470-71 (finding amendment to private condominium association’s bylaws banning all pets, including any pet acquired as a replacement of a prior pet not registered as of a date one year prior to…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Stanford Birnholz v. Blake, 399 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Envases Venezolanos, S.A. v. Collazo, 559 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Goshgarian v. Kaufman, 643 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)