CATHERINE A. LEE, APPELLANT,
v.
HARBOUR PRESERVATION, LLC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2001-09-19
No. 3D00-3538
Before JORGENSON, GODERICH and SHEVIN, JJ.
795 So. 2d 181 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2001)

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Synopsis

Catherine Lee appeals a judgment denying her request for specific performance to compel Harbour Preservation to purchase her non-voting share in a social club. The court affirmed, holding that Lee's voluntary resignation from the club extinguished her property rights in the membership certificate, making her ineligible for specific performance of the purchase agreement.


Holding

The court held that Lee was not entitled to specific performance because her voluntary resignation from the club extinguished her property rights in the membership certificate under the club's Articles of Reincorporation and By-laws. As a result, Lee no longer held an outstanding proprietary share subject to Harbour Preservation's offer.


Headnotes

[1] A party's resignation from a corporation, subsequent to filing a suit for specific performance, can extinguish their property rights in the corporation, thereby precludin…

[2] A plaintiff's right to recover in an action for specific performance is generally determined by the facts and circumstances existing at the time the suit was filed.

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Key Quotes

“Lee has no rights as to her membership certificate independent of the Articles of Reincorporation and the By-laws.”

Establishes that Lee's property rights in the membership derive solely from the club's governing documents.

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Facts & Procedural History

Lee held proprietary shares in the Bal Harbour Club, Inc., a not-for-profit social club. Harbour Preservation made an offer to purchase voting and non…

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Opinion of the Court
SHEVIN, Judge.

SHEVIN, Judge.

Catherine Lee appeals a final judgment in an action for specific performance against Harbour Preservation, Inc. We affirm.

Lee held proprietary shares in the Bal Harbour Club, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation and social club. Harbour Preservation sent an offer to the club’s proprietary shareholders to purchase their voting and non-voting shares. Harbour Preservation purchased Lee’s voting share but refused to purchase her non-voting share. Lee filed an action for specific performance seeking to compel Harbour Preservation to purchase the non-voting share. However, subsequent to filing suit, she resigned from the club. Following trial, the court entered judgment in favor of Harbour Preservation based on Lee’s resignation from the club.

Lee does not raise any issue meriting reversal. The club By-laws provide that the Board has the authority to issue proprietary memberships which may be vacated by resignation. The Articles of Reincorporation provide that when a member resigns she shall thereafter have no interest of any kind in the corporation. See § 617.0601, Fla. Stat. (1999). Lee has no rights as to her membership certificate independent of the Articles of Reincorporation and the By-laws. See Boca West Club, Inc. v. Levine, 578 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Reynolds v. The Surf Club, 473 So. 2d 1327 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), review denied, 484 So. 2d 9 (Fla.1986). Under the provisions of those documents, as a result of Lee’s resignation, her property rights in the membership certificate no longer existed.

Hence, Lee did not have an outstanding proprietary share subject to Harbour Preservation’s offer.

Therefore, the court properly ruled that Lee was not entitled to specific performance due to her resignation from the club.

Lee’s reliance on Voges v. Ward, 98 Fla. 304, 123 So. 785 (1929), and City Council of the City of North Miami Beach v. Trebor Constr. Corp., 277 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973), writ discharged, 296 So. 2d 490 (Fla.1974), is misplaced. Voges holds that an action filed prematurely will not be cured by the subsequent occurrence of a material fact. That holding is based on the principle that a plaintiffs right to recover depends on the facts as they existed when the suit was filed. See 1 Fla. Jur.2d Actions § 46 (1997). Trebor applies that principle holding that building code laws are applied as they existed at the time plaintiff filed suit.

However, the principle is inapplicable here, where plaintiffs actions subsequent to filing suit amounted to a voluntary relinquishment of her ability to perform under a specific performance judgment. See Gillman v. Nemeroff, 423 So. 2d 961 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).

Accordingly, we affirm the final judgment.

Affirmed.


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