ANTHONY EUGENE CASH, APPELLANT,
v.
AIRPORT MINI-STORAGE, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2001-04-18
No. 3D00-2581
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and RAMIREZ, J„ and NESBITT, Senior Judge.
782 So. 2d 983 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2001) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

Anthony Eugene Cash rented self-service storage space from Airport Mini-Storage, failed to pay rent, and the facility sold his possessions without complying with statutory lien procedures. The trial court dismissed his complaint for failing to comply with pleading rules, but this court reversed in part, allowing his breach of contract and statutory compliance claims to proceed while affirming dismissal of his constitutional and emotional distress claims.


Holding

The court affirmed dismissal of Cash's claims for emotional distress, privacy violation, and federal constitutional violations (4th Amendment, due process, equal protection) because he failed to comply with Rule 1.110(b) and failed to allege the elements of these claims. However, the court reversed the dismissal as to Cash's breach of contract claim and his claim that the facility failed to comply with section 83.806 Florida Statutes regarding enforcement of liens on self-storage space.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the ultimate facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.

[2] A party may move for dismissal of an action for failure of an adverse party to comply with the rules of procedure or any order of the court.

Previewing 2 of 5 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

“Under Rule 1.110(b), a complaint is required to contain a short and plain statement of the ultimate facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”

Establishes the pleading standard that Cash was required to meet

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

Cash rented self-service storage space from Airport Mini-Storage and fell behind on rental payments. He was informed of a possible $10 monthly late fe…

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
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Anthony Eugene Cash rented self-service storage space from Airport Mini-Storage but did not keep up the rental payments. Cash claims that at the time he rented the space he was informed of the possibility of some $10 monthly late fee, however was not informed of any other provisions or contractual arrangements. Sometime thereafter, realizing he was late in his payments, Cash maintains that he attempted to partially pay the sum then owed, but was turned away. Airport Mini Storage thereafter apparently sold off Cash’s possessions to pay the past due fees. Cash filed a complaint of sorts alleging a violation of various state and federal constitutional rights as well as the company’s intentional infliction of emotional distress. Also, although far from a model of clarity, the complaint also asserted a breach of contract claim and a claim that the storage facility had failed to act in compliance with section 83.806 Florida Statutes (1999), the statutory section providing for enforcement of liens on self-storage space.

The trial court dismissed Cash’s complaint without prejudice, concluding that the pleading was little more than rambling and did not adequately state any cause of action. Thereafter, Cash filed another complaint which the trial court again concluded did not comply with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b). The court then dismissed the action in accordance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(b).

Under Rule 1.110(b), a complaint is required to contain a short and plain statement of the ultimate facts showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. Rule 1.420(b) states that any party may move for dismissal of an action or of any claim against him for failure of an adverse party to comply with the Rules or any order of the court. A dismissal under this rule operates as an adjudication on the merits. We affirm in part, and reverse in part the order under review. As to Cash’s claims of emotional distress, violation of privacy, 4th Amendment, due process and equal protection rights, we affirm the dismissal of these claims. Cash failed to comply with Rule 1.110(b) and also failed to allege the elements of these claims. See Clemente v. Home, 707 So. 2d 865, 866 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); see also Davis v. Prudential Sec., Inc., 59 F. 3d 1186, 1186 (11th Cir.1995).

The Fifth district affirmed a dismissal based on a similar disjointed pleadings in Dewitt v. Rossi, 559 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). See Barrett v. City of Margate, 743 So. 2d 1160, 1163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)(observing that notwithstanding the fundamental principle of allowing pro se litigants procedural latitude, a practice effected to ensure access to the courts for all citizens, pro se litigants are not immune from the rules of procedure).

Here, Cash’s pleadings construed most liberally however do briefly state the facts and allege the elements of a claim for breach of contract and/or the failure of the facility to comply with section 83.806. Accordingly we reverse the trial court’s dismissal as to these claims. As to the balance of the order under review, the trial court’s decision is affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Alexander v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 233 So. 3d 1268 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)
    …rt to file an amended answer and counterclaim, if appropriate, that complies with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110; Fernandez v. Barry University, Inc., 973 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Cash v. Airport Mini-Storage, 782 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Kohn v. City of Miami Beach, 611 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992).…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw