ASHLEY GOODMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
ROBERT STRASSBURG AND LEO MARK, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1962-03-19
No. 61-536
Before HORTON, CARROLL and BARKDULL, JJ.
139 So. 2d 163 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1962) Caution
Cited by 10 cases

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Synopsis

Goodman appeals a summary judgment holding him jointly and severally liable for fraud based on a $5,000 investment that went to another defendant, Mark. The court reverses, finding no factual basis to hold Goodman liable because all fraudulent representations were made solely by Mark, not Goodman.


Holding

The judgment against Goodman is reversed because the record fails to establish any actionable fraud against him. Since Goodman made no representations and the plaintiff relied solely on Mark's misrepresentations, there is no factual basis for liability.


Key Quotes

“For fraud and deceit to be actionable, there must have been a false representation of a material fact made for the purpose of inducing another to change position, which change in position was occasioned by reliance on the false representation to the damage of the one to whom the representation was made.”

Establishes the essential elements required to prove actionable fraud

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Facts & Procedural History

Strassburg gave $5,000 to defendant Mark on October 7, 1957, to purchase a corporation interest. All representations inducing Strassburg to part with …

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Opinion of the Court
BARKDULL, Judge.

BARKDULL, Judge.

The appellee, Strassburg, as plaintiff, filed a common law action in the Civil Court of Record in and for Dade County, Florida, grounded upon fraud and deceit against the appellee, Leo Mark, and the appellant, Ashley Goodman, seeking to recover $5,-000.00 delivered to Mark. After the issues had been drawn by the pleadings, both the plaintiff and the defendant, Goodman, moved for a summary judgment. Upon these motions coming on to be heard, the lower court entered a summary final judgment in the principal sum of $5,000.00, plus interest and costs, against both the defendants, Goodman and Mark, jointly and severally.

This appeal was prosecuted solely by the defendant, Goodman, seeking reversal of the summary final judgment as to him, urging that the record fails to establish any liability of the defendant, Goodman, to the plaintiff.

No appeal having been taken by the defendant, Mark, the question of the sufficiency of the evidence before the trial court to justify the entry of a summary final judgment as to him has not been preserved for review by this court.

Generally, summary judgments are not favored in actions bottomed upon charges of fraud, as the determination of this conduct is generally within the province of the trier of the facts. Alepgo Corporation v. Pozin, Fla.App.1959, 114 So.2d 645. But when both parties move for a summary judgment, they authorize the trial judge to determine the cause on the record before him. Dezen v. Slatcoff, Fla.1953, 65 So.2d 484.

For fraud and deceit to be actionable, there must have been a false representation of a material fact made for the purpose of inducing another to change position, which change in position was occasioned by reliance on the false representation to the damage of the one to whom the representation was made. 14 Fla.Jur., Fraud and Deceit, § 9, and cases noted therein.

An examination of the record on appeal discloses no factual basis to justify the entry of a judgment against the defendant, Goodman. The following facts appear from the record: The plaintiff parted with $5,000.00 to the defendant, Mark, on October 7, 1957, for the purpose of purchasing an interest in a corporation; that all representations inducing the plaintiff to part with his $5,000.00 were made by the defendant, Mark; that the plaintiff “relied solely” on the defendant, Mark; that he had no discussions with the defendant, Goodman, at or prior to the time he parted with the $5,000.00; that at no time did the defendant, Goodman, receive any of the $5,-000.00 and, subsequently, the corporation went bankrupt, occasioning a loss to the plaintiff and both defendants.

No representations were made by Goodman ; therefore the plaintiff could not have relied on any activities of Goodman and candidly admitted, when his deposition was taken, that he relied solely on Mark, as follows:

“Q Ashley Goodman made no representations as to what you were going *165to make in this corporation at that time when you put in the money?
“A No. It was Leo who I dealt with.
“Q And it was Leo upon whom you relied ?
“A Yes; because he was the one that made the financial relationship.”

As the record fails to reveal any activities of Goodman which could constitute fraud, this cause is reversed with directions to the trial court to vacate so much of the final judgment establishing the liability of the defendant, Goodman, and enter a summary judgment dismissing the cause as to him.

Reversed and remanded.


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Cited By

  • …onstitute fraud. Since the whole context is necessary for the determination, it is seldom that one can determine the presence or absence of fraud without a trial.” The same admonition is voiced in the holding in Goodman v. Strassburg, Fla.App.1962, 139 So. 2d 163. These holdings are in accord with the general law that charges of fraud in the judicial process must be seriously pursued and may not be the subject of summary decree unless it is clear that the charges cannot be sustained. In discussing the summa…
  • United States Fid. & Guar. Co. v. J.D. Johnson Co., Inc., 438 So. 2d 917 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
    …ic issues remaining in dispute for trial should be identified in appropriate amended pleadings or a pretrial order entered after proceedings in accordance with Rule 1.200, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. . USF & G has cited Goodman v. Strassburg, 139 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962) and Glens Falls Insurance Co. v. Fields, 181 So. 2d 187 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966) for the proposition that this court may reverse and instruct the trial court to enter summary judgment in its favor. These two cases are factually disting…
  • Motors Ins. Corp. v. Hamilton, 20 Fla. Supp. 161 (Duval Cty. Civ. Ct. Rec. 1962)
    …d, both parties have moved for summary judgment, and in so doing have waived their rights to have the facts determined by a trier of the fact and authorized the trial court to determine the cause on the record before it (Goodman v. Strassburg, Fla., 139 So. 2d 163). And, though the case has been held under advisement for an inordinate period of time, no further affidavits or depositions have been filed nor preferred. The defendant specifically denies in his answer that any demand was made upon him for return…

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