LISETTE ARELLANO BISSON AND RANDOLPH J. BISSON, APPELLANTS,
v.
VILMA SCHUEG RAMIREZ DE ARELLANO, CITITRUST (BAHAMAS) LIMITED, AND MANUEL JORGE CUTILLAS, APPELLEES
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Lisette and Randolph Bisson appealed a trial court's grant of summary judgment dismissing their claims against Lisette's mother and co-trustees of family trusts, alleging the mother fraudulently deprived them of an inheritance. The appellate court affirmed, finding no genuine issue of material fact supporting any of the Bissons' numerous claims after ten years of litigation.
Summary judgment was properly granted because the Bissons failed to produce any evidence creating a triable issue of fact on any of their claims. The Bissons were barred by the law of the case doctrine from relitigating whether Cititrust and Cutillas could be sued individually, as this issue was already decided adversely to them in a prior appeal.
[1] Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
[2] A court lacks jurisdiction to review orders that have not been reduced to writing.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“despite ten years of protracted litigation, appellants have not produced any evidence that creates a triable issue of fact on any claim made by appellants in this litigation”
Establishes the court's core finding that the Bissons failed to meet the burden for defeating summary judgment despite lengthy litigation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLisette Bisson alleged her grandmother made an oral promise to leave her a multi-million-dollar inheritance. However, the grandmother left behind seve…
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SHEPHERD, J.
The appellants, Lisette Arellano Bisson and her husband, Randolph J. Bisson, appeal the trial court’s order granting summary final judgment in favor of Lisette’s mother, Vilma Schueg Ramirez de Arella- no. Appellants also appeal a denial of a motion for rehearing taken from that order and a simultaneously filed motion for relief from judgment.
This litigation has been pending more than ten years and presently is traveling-on a Fifth Amended Complaint that named as defendants Vilma Sehueg Ramirez de Arellano, Cititrust (Bahamas) Limited (“Cititrust”), individually, and Manuel Jorge Cutillas, individually. The gravamen of the complaint is that Vilma, either alone or in conspiracy with some twenty other relatives, attorneys or other professionals, and institutions, including Cititrust and Cutillas, deprived Lisette of a multi-million-dollar inheritance from her now deceased grandmother.1 The more than dozen causes of action included within the Fifth Amended Complaint allege fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of a purported common law duty to inform and account, surcharge, constructive trust, unjust enrichment, conversion, tortious interference with a gift or devise, and intentional interference with an expectancy, to recite a sampling.
The factual basis for these claims is an alleged oral promise made by grandmother to Lisette for which there exists no written memorialization or witness. Rather, there exist several well-drawn and thoughtful trust instruments which post-date the alleged promise that clearly and unambiguously distribute grandmother’s assets, contrary to Lisette’s views of her entitlement. Cititrust and Cutillas are co-trustees of two of those trusts.
Based upon a careful review of the record, we agree with the lower court’s conclusion that despite ten years of protracted litigation, appellants have not produced any evidence that creates a triable issue of fact on any claim made by appellants in this litigation. The entry of summary judgment in favor of Vilma was both appropriate, and overdue. Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126 (Fla.2000)(summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law); Williams v. Garden City Claims, Inc., 796 So. 2d 586, 587 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)(affirm-ing summary judgment in counter defendants’ favor where “the claims at issue were totally without merit”).
As to Cititrust and Cutillas, we likewise affirm. As an initial matter, it is doubtful that the claims made against Cititrust and Cutillas individually are preserved for appeal. See Rivera v. Dade County, 485 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)(court lacks jurisdiction to review orders which have not been reduced to writing). On the merits, however, the record reflects that in May 1996, the lower court entered an order dismissing both Cititrust and Cutillas on the ground that there was no personal jurisdiction to sue them as trustees in the State of Florida. Appellants appealed that order.
On appeal, appellants argued that reversal was required because Cititrust and Cutillas were sued individually, as well as in their capacity as trustees. In 1998, we decided the appeal adversely to appellants. See Bisson v. Cititrust (Bahamas) Ltd., 709 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)(table). Because the Bissons previously litigated whether or not Citi-trust and Cutillas could be sued in any capacity, the Bissons may not raise this issue again in this appeal. See Valsecchi v. Proprietors Ins. Co., 502 So. 2d 1310 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)(law of case doctrine precludes consideration of points of law which were, or should have been, adjudicated in a prior or former appeal of same case, as well as to any question decided by implication).
We likewise reject all other points raised by appellants and fully affirm the judgment and order on appeal.
Affirmed.
. Prior iterations of the complaint named several of Lisette's relatives, attorneys and other professionals, and institutions at one time or another. These other parties have all extracted themselves from the litigation via prior dismissals or orders.
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