JAMES V. ATRIA, APPELLANT,
v.
SHERYL HODOR, JOAN C. SHER, AND ST. JOE REAL ESTATE SERVICES, INC., D/B/A ARVIDA REALTY SERVICES, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 2001-08-08
No. 4D00-4309
POLEN, C.J., and WARNER, J., concur.
790 So. 2d 1229 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2001) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 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

James Atria appealed a summary judgment dismissing his fraud claim against real estate brokers Hodor, Sher, and St. Joe Real Estate Services. The court reversed, holding that the earlier dismissal of Atria's suit against the sellers did not bar his separate fraud claims against the brokers because they were not parties to or in privity with the prior lawsuit.


Holding

The court reversed the summary judgment, holding that the brokers' liability was not foreclosed by the dismissal against the sellers because the brokers were neither parties to nor in privity with the prior lawsuit. The court determined that collateral estoppel did not apply because the brokers' potential liability for their own fraudulent misrepresentations was independent of any liability the sellers may have had.


Headnotes

[1] The doctrine of res judicata does not bar a subsequent action against parties who were not parties to the prior litigation and were not in privity with the parties to the…

[2] For collateral estoppel to apply, the parties in the two proceedings must be identical, and the issues must have been actually litigated.

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

“Appellees were not parties to the Lisenby lawsuit. Nor were they in privity with the Lisenbys such that estoppel prevents the current action from proceeding against them.”

Establishes that collateral estoppel does not apply to non-parties lacking privity

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

In March 1999, Atria sued sellers Stephen and Patricia Lisenby for failing to disclose material information about a residential lot. The trial court d…

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
GROSS, J.

GROSS, J.

James Atria appeals a final summary judgment dismissing his case against appellees, real estate brokers or salespersons Sheryl Hodor, Joan Sher, and St. Joe Real Estate Services, Inc. d/b/a Prudential Florida Realty. We reverse, because the dismissal of Atria’s earlier suit did not foreclose the cause of action raised in this case.

In March, 1999, Atria filed a second amended complaint against Stephen and Patricia Lisenby, claiming that the Lisen-bys failed to disclose material information about the residential lot they sold to Atria. See Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985). The trial court granted the Lisen-bys’ motion to dismiss with prejudice. Atria appealed, but voluntarily dismissed the appeal pursuant to a settlement.

In September, 2000, Atria filed a complaint against the appellees in this case. The complaint alleged that appellees were real estate brokers or salespersons involved in Atria’s purchase of the residential lot from the Lisenbys. Although the complaint is not clear,1 it appears to state a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation concerning restrictive covenants or zoning requirements.

Citing to the dismissed Lisenby case, appellees moved for summary judgment on the ground that the case against them was barred by res judicata, estoppel by judgment, and law of the case. The trial court granted their motion and entered a final judgment against Atria.

In Holt v. Brown’s Repair Service, Inc., 780 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), the second district found:

[F]or the doctrine of collateral estoppel to apply an identical issue must be presented in a prior proceeding; the issue must have been a critical and necessary part of the prior determination; there must have been a full and fair opportunity to litigate that issue; the parties in the two proceedings must be identical; and the issues must have been actually litigated.

Id. at 182.

Appellees were not parties to the Lisenby lawsuit. Nor were they in privity with the Lisenbys such that estoppel prevents the current action from proceeding against them. “To be in privity with a party to the prior litigation, [for purposes of collateral estoppel,] ‘one must have an interest in the action such that she will be bound by the final judgment as if she were a party.’ ” O’Brien v. Fed. Trust Bank, F.S.B., 727 So. 2d 296, 298 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (quoting Stogniew v. McQueen, 656 So. 2d 917 (Fla.1995)). Had the Lisenbys been liable for their fraudulent non-disclosure in the first lawsuit, the appellees would have had no obligation to indemnify the Lisenbys, nor would they necessarily have been liable to Atria.

This case is therefore distinguishable from Sentry v. FCCI Mutual Life Insurance Co., 745 So. 2d 349, 350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), cited by appellees. There, we applied collateral estoppel against an insurance company whose insured had not prevailed on an issue in the underlying lawsuit. Unlike the appellees in this case, the insurance company’s liability was dependant solely on the liability of its insured, which was established by the earlier action.

If appellees made fraudulent misrepresentations in their capacity as real estate professionals, they would be liable for them apart from anything the sellers said, did, or failed to do. Appellees’ liability was not foreclosed by the dismissal of the case against the sellers of the lot in the earlier lawsuit.

Law of the case has no application here. That doctrine bars reconsideration of an issue previously reviewed on the merits. See Ameriseal of N.E. Fla., Inc. v. Leiffer, 738 So. 2d 993, 994 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). Appellees’ liability for their fraudulent misrepresentation has never been litigated.

REVERSED.

POLEN, C.J., and WARNER, J., concur. . Because it is not at issue in this appeal, we do not reach the question of whether the complaint pled fraud with the particularity required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.120(b). See Flemenbaum v. Flemenbaum, 636 So. 2d 579, 580 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)(observing that ''[w]here fraud exists, it is not so subtle a concept that it cannot be described with precision”).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …nd necessary part of the prior determination; (3) there must have been a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue; (4) the parties in the two proceedings must be identical; and (5) the issues must have been actually litigated. Atria v. Hodor, 790 So. 2d 1229, 1230 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Here, there is no question the parties involved in Genovese I and Genovese II are identical. However, Genovese argues his claim in Genovese II was not barred by collateral estoppel because the issue of the [*478] onset da…
  • Massey v. David, 831 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
    …heastern Fidelity Ins. Co. v. Rice, 515 So. 2d 240, 242 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). Virtual representation or privity may exist where a third party must indemnify and so is vicariously liable12 for the acts of the party to the lawsuit. See Atria v. Hodor, 790 So. 2d 1229, 1230 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Sentry Ins. v. FCCI Mut. Life Ins. Co., 745 So. 2d 349, 350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); see also Restatement (Second) of Judgments, § 51(3) (1982) (“If the action is brought against the primary obligor and judgment is against the…
  • Hutchinson v. Pyros (M.D. Fla. 2024)
    …757 F. App'x. 815, 818 (11th Cir. 2018). This occurs when a party in the subsequent proceeding can show they have an interest in the prior proceeding, “such that [they] will be bound by the final judgment as if [they] were a party.” Atria v. Hodor, 790 So. 2d 1229, 1230 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001). Because Defendants have not shown (or even argued) that they are identical to or in privity with the plaintiff in the state foreclosure proceeding (4000 Treadwater, LLC) they cannot rely on those proceedings to bar…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw