DAUM
v.
ADWEISS

Fla. 3d DCA | 2018-12-26
No. 17-0990
Jim Mattox
Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2018)

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Synopsis

John A. Daum and his wholly-owned LLC appeal a judgment holding them jointly and severally liable to return funds Daum paid himself from assets of Adweiss entities while serving as general manager. The appellate court affirmed the judgment in its entirety except for one issue involving conversion damages awarded to Adweiss, LLC.


Holding

The court affirmed the judgment holding Daum and JAD Services, LLC jointly and severally liable for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. However, the court reversed the conversion damages awarded to Adweiss, LLC because conversion claims are inappropriate where the basis of suit is contractual or implied contractual obligation rather than tort.


Headnotes

[1] An action in conversion, which is a tort claim, is inappropriate where the underlying basis of the suit is contractual or fiduciary in nature, and such claims should inst…

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Key Quotes

“A fiduciary owes to its beneficiary the duty to refrain from self-dealing, the duty of loyalty, the overall duty not to take unfair advantage and to act in the best interest of the other party, and the duty to disclose material facts.”

Capital Bank v. MVB, Inc., 644 So. 2d 515, 520 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)

Facts & Procedural History

Daum served as general manager of Adweiss, LLC, which acted as general partner of Adweiss, LLLP. While in this fiduciary position, Daum made payments …

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Opinion of the Court

Opinion filed December 26, 2018. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. ________________ No. 3D17-990 Lower Tribunal No. 13-27747 ________________ John A. Daum, etc., et al., Appellants, vs. Adweiss, LLLP, etc., et al., Appellees. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, John Schlesinger, Judge. Philip D. Parrish, P.A., and Philip D. Parrish, for appellants. Law Office of Dennis Grossman, and Dennis Grossman; Law Office of Max R. Price, P.A., and Max R. Price, for appellees. Before EMAS, FERNANDEZ, and LOGUE, JJ. PER CURIAM.

John A. Daum and JAD Services, LLC, which is wholly owned by Daum, appeal a final judgment entered after a bench trial holding them jointly and several liable to return with interest certain funds Daum paid them out of the assets of Adweiss, LLC and Adweiss, LLLP. Daum made the payments while he served as the general manager of Adweiss, LLC, which in turn, served as the general partner of Adweiss, LLLP. Having carefully considered the arguments of the parties, the record, and the trial court’s meticulous thirty-two page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, we find nothing that warrants reversal, with one small exception.1 See Capital Bank v. MVB, Inc., 644 So. 2d 515, 520 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (“A fiduciary owes to its beneficiary the duty to refrain from self-dealing, the duty of loyalty, the overall duty not to take unfair advantage and to act in the best interest of the other party, and the duty to disclose material facts.”); Variety Children’s Hosp., Inc. v. Vigliotti, 385 So. 2d 1052, 1053-54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980) (despite governing contract, unjust enrichment claim allowed between parties who did not have a contract with each other); Joseph v. Chanin, 940 So. 2d 483, 486 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (final judgment 1 The final judgment is reversed to the extent it awards Adweiss LLC recovery on the Appellees’ cause of action for conversion. Belford Trucking Co. v. Zagar, 243 So. 2d 646, 648 (Fla. 4th DCA1970) (“an action in tort is inappropriate where the basis of the suit is a contract, either express or implied.”).

in a conversion case allowed to stand where funds were withdrawn from bank account); Powerhouse, Inc. v. Walton, 557 So. 2d 186, 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (“[I]ndividual officers and agents of a corporation are personally liable for torts committed within the scope of their employment,” and joint and several liability may apply to both the individual who perpetrated the tort and the company for whom he worked).

We therefore reverse in part and remand to the trial court to amend paragraph two of the final judgment to the extent it awarded damages, prejudgment interest or other relief to Adweiss, LLC on the cause of action for conversion, and for any further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. The final judgment is, in all other respects, affirmed.


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