HOMERO CARMONA, FERNANDO CARMONA, AND ISIDRO CARMONA, APPELLANTS,
v.
MCKINLEY, ITTERSAGEN, GUNDERSON & BERNTSSON, P.A., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2007-04-13
Nos. 2D06-1850, 2D06-1852, 2D06-1854
SALCINES and DAVIS, JJ., Concur.
952 So. 2d 1273 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2007) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

The Florida appellate court reversed the dismissal of three laborers' complaints against a law firm that posted bonds transferring their construction liens to security. The trial court improperly looked beyond the complaint's allegations when granting the law firm's motion to dismiss, violating the four-corners rule for evaluating such motions.


Holding

The complaints stated sufficient causes of action to survive the motion to dismiss. The trial court erred by considering facts outside the complaints (that McKinley was merely the owner's attorney) when it should have been confined to the allegations within the four corners of the complaints and presumed them true.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action is confined to the allegations within the four corners of the complaint.

[2] In ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court must assume all allegations in the complaint are true and determine if the plaintiff would be entitled to relief.

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Key Quotes

“the trial court is confined to a consideration of the allegations found within the four corners of the complaint.”

Establishes the standard that courts must apply when reviewing motions to dismiss—they may only consider allegations explicitly stated in the complaint

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Facts & Procedural History

Three brothers (Homero, Fernando, and Isidro Carmona) performed labor on real property owned by Saxony Holdings, LLC pursuant to an oral contract with…

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Opinion of the Court
VILLANTI, Judge.

VILLANTI, Judge.

Homero Carmona, Fernando Carmona, and Isidro Carmona appeal the orders dismissing each of their individual amended complaints against McKinley, Ittersagen, Gunderson & Berntsson, P.A. (McKinley). Because the trial court impermissibly looked beyond the four corners of the complaints in granting McKinley’s motions to dismiss, we reverse the trial court’s orders of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

Homero, Fernando, and Isidro Carmona each performed labor on real property owned by Saxony Holdings, LLC. They did so pursuant to an alleged oral contract with the contractor and were not in privity with the owner. When the contractor failed to pay the Carmonas, they individually filed and recorded timely claims of lien against the real property. Subsequently, McKinley posted a bond transferring each claim of lien to security, pursuant to section 713.24, Florida Statutes (2004). Each transfer bond stated that it related to the applicable claim of lien filed by the appropriate Carmona, and each bond stated that it was posted by McKinley.

The Carmonas timely filed suit against McKinley seeking to foreclose on their liens which were transferred to security. McKinley moved to dismiss the amended complaints for failure to state a cause of action,1 arguing that it was not the proper defendant because it has no interest in the real property; i.e., McKinley is merely the owner’s attorney and posted the bond on the owner’s behalf. Following a hearing, at which McKinley advanced this argument,2 the trial court dismissed the Car-monas’ amended complaints with prejudice.

In ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, the “ ‘trial court is confined to a consideration of the allegations found within the four corners of the complaint.’ ” Meadows Cmty. Ass’n v. Russell-Tutty, 928 So. 2d 1276, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (quoting Consuegra v. Lloyd’s Underwriters at London, 801 So. 2d 111, 112 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)). The court must assume that all allegations in the complaint are true and decide whether the plaintiff would be entitled to relief. Russell-Tutty, 928 So. 2d at 1279.

Section 713.24(1) permits “any person having an interest in the real property upon which the lien is imposed or the contract under which the lien is claimed” to transfer the lien from real property to security. As a result, McKinley, on the faces of the bonds, is the “person” that transferred the liens to security and, hence, is presumed to have an interest in the real property or contract because it posted the funds. Consequently, the facts alleged by the Carmonas were sufficient ultimate facts alleging entitlement to relief from McKinley. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(b).

The Carmonas properly attached the transfer bonds to their complaints. The bonds state that they were posted by McKinley and make no reference to being posted on behalf of any other person or entity. Because a judge may consider only the four corners of the complaint in deciding a motion to dismiss, it was not proper for the trial court to consider, and presumably agree with, McKinley’s argument — which was not corroborated on the faces of the complaints — that it was not the proper party to the suit because it merely represents the owner. McKinley may be the owner’s attorney, and McKinley may have posted the bonds on the owner’s behalf; however, in deciding the motions to dismiss, the trial court was restricted to the four corners of the complaints. Thus the Carmonas’ complaints stated causes of action sufficient to survive McKinley’s motions to dismiss. Although McKinley may be able to prove that it was not the proper defendant on a motion for summary judgment, the trial court erred in considering facts outside the complaints in deciding McKinley’s motions to dismiss.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

SALCINES and DAVIS, JJ., Concur. . Although McKinley’s motion does not state under which rule it was filed, McKinley con tinuously argued in its motion and during the hearing that the Carmonas failed to state a cause of action against McKinley. Therefore, we presume that McKinley’s motion was filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140(b)(6).

. McKinley also briefly argued that the Car-monas’ amended complaints were not timely filed, but the court found no merit in that argument.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Miller v. Nelms, 966 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
    …of action. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140(b)(6). When analyzing a motion to dismiss based on this ground, a court is limited to a consideration of the four corners of the plaintiffs complaint. Carmona v. McKinley, Ittersagen, Gunderson & Berntsson, P.A., 952 So. 2d 1273, 1275 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). In doing so, the court must accept the plaintiffs allegations as true and resolve all inferences in the plaintiffs favor. Wilson v. News-Press [*440] Publ’g Co., 738 So. 2d 1000, 1001 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). Miller claimed dam…
  • Hussey v. Collier Cnty., 158 So. 3d 661 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
    …y within its four corners and must assume the truth of the factual allegations therein. The court’s task is to decide whether, under the asserted facts, the plaintiff could obtain relief. Carmona v. McKinley, Ittersagen, Gunderson & Berntsson, P.A., 952 So. 2d 1273, 1275 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). When reviewing an order dismissing a complaint on appeal, this court also must accept the facts stated in the complaint as true. Lutz Lake Fern Rd. Neighborhood Grps., Inc. v. Hillsborough Cnty., 779 So. 2d 380, 383 (Fla. 2…

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