STUDENT LOAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION, A DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
DANIEL MORRIS, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1995-11-03
No. 95-00131
ALTENBERND and FULMER, JJ., concur'.
662 So. 2d 990 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Holding

The court held that the trial court erred in dismissing the amended complaint with prejudice for failure to state a cause of action.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court's jurisdiction depends, a short and plain statement of the ultimate facts showing…

[2] Attaching copies of promissory notes to a pleading is sufficient compliance with rules requiring the attachment of instruments upon which an action is brought, and repaym…

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Facts & Procedural History

The appellant, Student Loan Marketing Association, sued the appellee, Daniel Morris, for default on four promissory notes issued under the HEAL progra…

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Opinion of the Court
SCHOONOVER, Acting Chief Judge.

SCHOONOVER, Acting Chief Judge.

The appellant, Student Loan Marketing Association, contends that the trial court erred by dismissing its action against the appellee, Daniel Morris. We agree that the trial court should not have dismissed the appellant’s amended complaint with prejudice on the basis that it did not state a cause of action and, accordingly, reverse.

Between 1982 and 1985, the appellee executed four promissory notes. Those notes, now owned by the appellant, were issued in connection with the United States Department of Health and Human Services Health Education Assistance Loan Program (the HEAL program) and assisted the appellee in obtaining his medical education.

In 1994, the appellant filed the instant action against the appellee claiming that all of the notes were in default. The appellee's motion to dismiss the appellant’s amended complaint for failure to state a cause of aetion was granted, and the appellant filed a timely notice of appeal from the order dismissing the action with prejudice.

In order to withstand a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, a complaint must comply with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b). Under that rule, the complaint must state a cause of action and contain (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction depends, (2) a short and plain statement of the ultimate facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and (3) a demand for judgment for the relief to which the pleader deems appropriate. In addition to allegations not necessary to consider in this appeal, the appellant alleged in its amended complaint that the notes were executed pursuant to the HEAL program (42 U.S.C. §§ 294-2941 (1982)), that all conditions precedent were performed by the appellant, that the appellee failed to pay the sums due and owing despite demands for same, and that the appellee had, therefore, defaulted. Copies of the promissory notes which clearly indicated that they were executed pursuant to the HEAL program were attached to the amended complaint. The amended complaint also contained the required allegations as set forth in Florida Rules of Civil Procedure Form 1.934. Because the complaint complied with the rules of civil procedure and the approved form, it should not have been dismissed.

The order dismissing the appellant’s action indicates that the trial court found the amended complaint was deficient in several regards.

First, the order stated that the amended complaint was deficient because it did not attach the payment schedules referred to in the notes to show that any payments were due or unpaid.1 The failure to attach the schedules to the complaint did not create a deficiency. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.130(a) requires that all notes upon which an action may be brought, or a copy thereof, be attached to the pleading. The appellant complied with this rule by attaching to the amended complaint copies of the four notes sued upon. The same rule also provides that the pleadings should not contain unnecessary recitals of other instruments, and since the repayment schedules in the instant case were not necessary at the initial pleading stage, they were not required to be attached to the amended complaint.

Next, the order concluded that no facts were pled to demonstrate either the fact of a default or a demand for payment. The amended complaint alleged that the appellee failed to pay the sums due and owed despite the fact that demands were made and that the appellee, therefore, defaulted on the notes. That allegation complied with form 1.934 and was also sufficient to allege a default pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 294m (1982), which provides that a default has occurred when a borrower fails to make a payment when due.

Last, the order stated that the amended complaint was deficient because it did not allege facts establishing the satisfaction of conditions precedent to the maintenance of the action. As mentioned above, the appellant alleged in its amended complaint that it had performed all conditions necessary to be performed under the promissory notes. Since Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.120(c) provides that in pleading the performance of conditions precedent it is sufficient to aver generally that all conditions precedent have been performed, the appellant’s allegations were sufficient.

To the extent it can be argued that the allegations contained in the appellant’s amended complaint are vague and ambiguous, it must be remembered that a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a cause of action does not reach the defects of vague and ambiguous pleadings. See Frisch v. Kelly, 137 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1st DCA 1962).

Reversed and remanded for proceedings consistent herewith.

ALTENBERND and FULMER, JJ., concur'.

. The maimer in which payment schedules are created is controlled by the HEAL program.


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Cited By

  • Glen Garron, LLC v. Marla Buchwald, 210 So. 3d 229 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)
    …f the note. See Royal Palm Corp. Ctr. Ass’n v. PNC Bank, NA, 89 So. 3d 923, 929-33 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). While a promissory note must be attached to the complaint when suing for payment of the promissory note, see. Student Loan Mktg. Ass’n v. Morris, 662 So. 2d 990, 991 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), in a foreclosure case, the note itself is not required to be attached to the complaint under rule 1.130, as the object of a foreclosure action is to force the sale of the property through the plaintiffs contractual rights th…
  • Nat'l Collegiate Student Loan Tr. 2006-4 v. Meyer, 265 So. 3d 715 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)
  • Jensen v. Pinellas Cnty., 293 So. 3d 1076 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)
    …mbiguous pleading. Meadows Cmty. Ass'n v. Russell-Tutty, 928 So. 2d 1276, 1278 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (alterations in original) (quoting Fontainebleau Hotel Corp. v. Walters, 246 So. 2d 563, 565 (Fla. 1971)); see also Student Loan Mktg. Ass'n v. Morris, 662 So. 2d 990, 992 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) ("To the extent it can be argued that the allegations contained in the appellant's amended complaint are vague and ambiguous, it must be remembered that a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a cause of action d…

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