ROBERT OFFER AND OFFER & ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL, INC., APPELLANTS,
v.
TED ARISON, RUBILAXCE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, GEORGE BARBAR, ALICE BAY, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, MERLE WOOD, AND ROBERT JEPSON, APPELLEES
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The court held that the trial court erred in dismissing the defendant for lack of personal jurisdiction, as sufficient facts existed to bring the defendant within Florida's long-arm statute and satisfy minimum contacts.
A Georgia resident initiated contact with a Florida broker to purchase a yacht located in Florida, visited Florida twice for negotiations, and ultimat…
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PER CURIAM.
We grant rehearing, withdraw our per cu-riam affirmance of May 31, 1995 and substitute the following opinion reversing the trial court’s order dismissing Robert Jepson as a defendant.
The trial court entered its order of dismissal based on lack of personal jurisdiction after conducting an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1989). The sole issue in this case, as in Offer v. Lady Alice Corp., 671 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), is whether the two prongs neeessary for asserting personal jurisdiction were met: 1) sufficient facts to bring defendant within Florida’s long arm statute; and 2) sufficient facts to constitute minimum contacts with the forum. See Venetian Salami.
It is undisputed that Jepson, a Georgia resident, initiated contact with plaintiff Robert Offer, a Florida broker, to inquire about purchasing a yacht located in Florida. Jepson came to Florida twice to meet with Offer concerning the purchase of the yacht. Jepson, through his wholly-owned corporation, Lady Alice, ultimately purchased the yacht through another broker, thus excluding Offer from the transaction and from a substantial brokerage commission. The gist of Offer’s complaint is that Jepson, in concert with other defendants including Florida residents, defrauded Offer, as the corresponding broker. Consistent with our reasoning in Lady Alice, which involved the wholly-owned corporation of appellee Jepson, we find that the facts alleged against Jepson could constitute tortious conduct in Florida pursuant to sec tion 48.193(l)(b), Florida Statutes (1995), and that Jepson’s activities in Florida satisfy the minimum contacts requirement of the due process clause. As Judge Stone stated in his original dissent, “[f]rom the evidence and claims in this record, it is premature to draw ultimate inferences or conclusions of fact to preclude the plaintiff from proceeding against Appellee” Jepson.
STONE, PARIENTE and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.
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World Class Yachts, Inc. v. Murphy, 731 So. 2d 798 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…y hearing to resolve all disputed facts essential to a determination of the jurisdictional issue. See Venetian Salami 554 So. 2d at 502. Should the trial court face this issue, we recommend it consider the factually similar cases of Offer v. Arison, 671 So. 2d 193 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), and Offer v. Lady Alice Corp., 671 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). REVERSED AND REMANDED. STEVENSON and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.…
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Metnick & Levy, P.A. v. Seuling, 123 So. 3d 639 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…y and substantial justice” since it was “reasonable to conclude that a party hiring an agent under these circumstances would expect to be haled into court in this state on a breach of contract claim for nonpayment.” Id. at 1314; cf. Offer v. Arison, 671 So. 2d 193, 193-94 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (due process satisfied where Georgia resident initiated contact with a Florida broker “to inquire about purchasing a yacht located in Florida”); Stomar, Inc. v. Lucky Seven Riverboat Co., 821 So. 2d 1183, 1187 (Fla. 4th D…
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Stomar, Inc. v. Lucky Seven Riverboat Co., L.L.C., 821 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…[of the brokerage commission] ... [Retaining a Florida agent to perform services in this state is sufficient to meet due process concerns in an action for nonpayment for the services performed there.” 625 So. 2d at 1314. See, e.g., Offer v. Arison, 671 So. 2d 193 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (holding that plaintiff showed sufficient facts to constitute minimum contacts with forum to satisfy due process where Georgia resident sought Florida yacht broker’s assistance in buying yacht but then bought boat with aid of oth…
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- Venetian Salami Co. v. J.S. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1989)
- Offer v. Lady Alice Corp., 671 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)