HOME LOAN CORPORATION D/B/A EXPANDED MORTGAGE CREDIT, APPELLANT,
v.
SYLVIA AZA, APPELLEE
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Home Loan Corporation appealed the dismissal of its fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims against Sylvia Aza, a corporate officer. The court held that a corporate officer can be held individually liable for tortious acts committed within the scope of her employment, reversing the trial court's dismissal.
A corporate officer may be held individually liable for her own tortious acts committed in the scope of her employment. The allegations in the third amended complaint sufficiently alleged Aza's personal involvement and participation in the tortious acts that injured Home Loan.
[1] A corporate officer who participates in the commission of a tort, even while acting within the scope of employment, is personally liable to third persons injured thereby.
[2] A corporate officer is not personally liable for torts committed by or for the corporation unless the officer has participated in the wrongful act.
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“A director or officer of a corporation does not incur personal liability for its torts merely by reason of his official character; he is not liable for torts committed by or for the corporation unless he has participated in the wrong.”
Establishes the baseline rule that corporate status alone does not shield officers from liability
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHome Loan Corporation, a residential mortgage lender, filed suit against defendants involved in a residential loan transaction. Sylvia Aza, as Preside…
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PER CURIAM.
Home Loan Corporation d/b/a Expanded Mortgage Credit appeals an order dismissing with prejudice its third amended complaint against Sylvia Aza. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The question presented is whether a corporate officer who has committed fraud or negligent misrepresentation while performing her duties within the course and scope of her employment as president of the corporation can be held personally liable. We conclude that, based upon the allegations in the third amended complaint, defendant-appellee Aza may be held individually liable for her own tortious acts committed in the scope of her employment by the corporation.
Home Loan, a residential mortgage lender, filed suit against several defendants involved in a residential loan transaction. At issue here are the counts of fraud and negligent misrepresentation (counts three and four) against Sylvia Aza, individually, for allegedly committing tortious acts while performing her duties as President of Genesis Title Services Corp. The third amended complaint alleges that Aza prepared, signed, and certified the HUD-1 settlement statement, which contained the knowingly false statements and material misrepresentations that the borrower paid a $500 deposit, and $4,066 cash to close. Home Loan alleges that the borrower never actually paid either amount.
The trial court dismissed the claims against Aza with prejudice. This was apparently done on the theory that since Aza signed the relevant documents in her capacity as corporate president, she could not be held personally liable. Home Loan has appealed.
The Fourth District has said:
A director or officer of a corporation does not incur personal liability for its torts merely by reason of his official character; he is not liable for torts committed by or for the corporation unless he has participated in the wrong. Accordingly, directors not parties to a wrongful act on the part of other directors are not liable therefor. If, however, a director or officer commits or participates in the commission of a tort, whether or not it is also by or for the corporation, he is liable to third persons injured thereby, and it does not matter what liability attaches to the corporation for the tort. A contrary rule would enable a director or officer of a corporation to perpetrate flagrant injuries and escape liability behind the shield of his representative character, even though the corporation might be insolvent or irresponsible.”
Orlovsky v. Solid Surf, Inc., 405 So. 2d 1363 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) (emphasis added; citation omitted). See also White-Wilson Medical Center v. Dayta Consultants, Inc., 486 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986).
The allegations in the third amended complaint sufficiently allege Aza’s personal involvement and participation in the tortious acts which resulted in Home Loan’s injuries.
. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.
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Jones v. Dionisios Theodore Vasilias, 359 So. 3d 10 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023)
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Costa Invs., LLC v. Liberty Grande LLC (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)…fact. The central question is whether Bensusan can be held individually liable for this fraud evidenced by the agreement and certificate when he signed as the corporate officer of Liberty. We hold that he can. The case of Home Loan Corp. v. Aza, 930 So. 2d 814, 815 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006), is instructive. In Aza, a mortgage lender brought an action arising out of a residential loan transaction against various parties, including the president of the title services company involved in the transaction. Id. at 8…
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Jones v. Dionisios Theodore Vasilias (Fla. 4th DCA 2023)…to the plaintiff’s injuries, or “at least knowledge amounting to acquiescence in the wrongful act.” Costa Invs., LLC, 353 So. 3d at 634 (emphasis added) (quoting Speiser et al., 1A Am. Law of Torts § 4:24 (2022))); see also Home Loan Corp. v. Aza, 930 So. 2d 814, 815-16 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (reversing dismissal of a complaint for negligent misrepresentation where the complaint alleged the corporate officer prepared and signed the document containing the misrepresentation). The complaint here alleged sufficie…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Orlovsky v. Solid Surf, Inc., 405 So. 2d 1363 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- White-Wilson Med. Ctr. v. Dayta Consultants, Inc., 486 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)