CITY OF MIAMI,
v.
ELVIS CRUZ, ET AL.,
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A municipality's sovereign immunity does not bar a claim for breach of an express written contract when the complaint alleges the breach and attaches the contract as an exhibit, as Florida law recognizes a limited waiver of sovereign immunity in the contracts sphere.
[1] A municipality's sovereign immunity is waived to the extent the municipality breaches an express written contract, and such a claim is not barred by sovereign immunity at…
[2] On review of a motion to dismiss, the court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations of the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the n…
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 motion to dismiss is designed to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not to determine factual issues, and the allegations of the complaint must be taken as true and all reasonable inferences therefrom construed in favor of the nonmoving party.”
Establishes the standard for reviewing motions to dismiss, requiring acceptance of the plaintiff's allegations as true.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceElvis Cruz filed a complaint against the City of Miami alleging breach of a settlement agreement and seeking damages and injunctive relief. The compla…
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Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida
Opinion filed June 22, 2022. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D21-2424 Lower Tribunal No. 21-10716 ________________
City of Miami, Appellant,
vs.
Elvis Cruz, et al., Appellees.
An Appeal from a non-final order from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, William Thomas, Judge.
Victoria Méndez, City Attorney, and Christopher A. Green, Senior Assistant City Attorney, and John A. Greco, Deputy City Attorney, for appellant.
David J. Winker, P.A., and David J. Winker, for appellees.
Before EMAS, SCALES and GORDO, JJ.
EMAS, J.
1 The complaint alleged four counts: Count One alleged breach of settlement agreement against the City; Count Two alleged breach of settlement agreement against defendant 5101 RE Co., LLC; Count Three sought injunctive relief against the City; Count Four sought injunctive relief against 5101 RE Co., LLC. The trial court dismissed Counts Three and Four seeking injunctive relief, but denied the motion to dismiss the breach of settlement counts. This appeal is limited to review of the trial court’s nonfinal order denying the City’s motion to dismiss Count One on the basis of sovereign immunity.
See also Sierra v. Associated Marine Insts., Inc., 850 So. 2d 582, 590 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (observing that “sovereign immunity generally is an affirmative defense that may justify granting a motion to dismiss only when the complaint itself conclusively establishes its applicability.”). Cruz alleges in his complaint that the City breached an express written contract, a copy of which was attached to the complaint. Florida law recognizes a limited waiver of sovereign immunity where the municipality breaches an express written contract. Pan-Am Tobacco Corp. v. Dep’t of Corrections, 471 So. 2d 4, 5 (Fla. 1984) (holding that “where the state has entered into a contract fairly authorized by the powers granted by general law, the defense of sovereign immunity will not protect the state from action arising from the state’s breach of that contract”); Castro, 279 So. 3d at 806 (“In the contracts sphere, the limited waiver of sovereign immunity is founded in common law and occurs only when the municipality breaches an express written contract”); Champagne-Webber, Inc. v. City of Ft. Lauderdale, 519 So. 2d 696 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988) (applying Pan-Am holding to a municipality). We find no error in the trial court’s order denying the City’s motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity. Affirmed.
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- Siegle v. Progressive Consumers Ins. Co., 819 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2002)
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- Skybus JET Cargo, Inc. v. ACA Int'l, LLC, 314 So. 3d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)
- Wendall Hall v. Officer Knipp, 982 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- City of Miami Firefighters' & Police Officers' Retirementtrust & Plan v. Lieutenant Jorge Castro, 279 So. 3d 803 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)
- Medina v. Pollack, 300 So. 3d 173 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020)
- Miami-Dade Cnty. v. Perez, 47 Fla. L. Weekly D857 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022)