RICHARD A. CHAIKIN, APPELLANT,
v.
MILDRED SKOLNICK, D/B/A MONACO BAY APARTMENTS, APPELLEE
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A defendant who fails to comply with the Florida Fictitious Name Statute cannot defend a lawsuit until compliance is achieved.
The plaintiff sued the defendant, who operated under a fictitious business name without registering it as required by statute. The trial court allowed…
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The appellant, Richard A. Chaikin, has appealed from a summary final judgment for the defendant, Mildred Skolnick, d/b/a Monaco Bay Apartments.
The sole question involved on this appeal concerns Section 865.09, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., commonly known as the Florida Fictitious Name Statute.
The appellant, Chaikin, was the plaintiff below and sued the defendant, Mildred Skolnick, d/b/a Monaco Bay Apartments, and alleged that she owned, operated, controlled or managed the premises known as Monaco Bay Apartments. The defendant’s answer denied these allegations. The record on appeal reflects that the plaintiff timely objected to the defense of the suit for failure of the defendant to comply with Section 865.09. The trial court denied these motions; permitted the defendant to defend this action, and ultimately entered a summary final judgment for the defendant.
The question before us is the propriety of permitting the defendants to participate in this action, when it is unquestioned that she has not complied with the provisions of the statute.
The statute makes it unlawful for any person to engage in any business under a fictitious name in Florida unless such fictitious name shall be registered with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the principal place of business is located.
The penalty for failure to comply with the statute is that neither the business nor the members, nor those interested in doing such business, may defend or maintain a suit in any court of this State, either as plaintiff or defendant until the statute is complied with.
We have previously considered the application of this statute insofar as it applies to plaintiffs in the case of Cor-Gal Builders, Inc. v. Southard, Fla.App.1962, 136 So.2d 244. Judge Barkdull, speaking for the court, held that the failure to comply with the statute was not a prohibition preventing activation of the jurisdiction of the trial court, but it was an . inhibition against the maintenance of an action which would arise when the infirmity was timely called to the attention of the trial judge. We are of the opinion that the same rea*590soning applies herein, and that the failure of the defendant to comply with the statute when properly and timely called to the attention of the trial judge should preclude a defense of a suit until the statute is complied with.
Although the failure of the defendant to comply with the statute in this instance may not have any effect upon the outcome in this case, orderly procedure requires the compliance with the statutes of the State of Florida. Therefore, even though we might not agree with the practical application of the statute in this instance, and even though the final results may remain the same, we are, nevertheless, constrained to rule that all persons are entitled to an application of the statutes as they are passed and written by the legislature.
The business name used here, to-wit: Monaco Bay Apartments, did not reasonably reveal the name of the owner or operator to be Mildred Skolnick, and registration was required under the statute. Failure to do so brings about the imposition of the penalties provided therein.
The defendant, having failed to comply with the statute, was not entitled to defend under its express provisions and the court should have granted the relief sought by the plaintiff, until such time as the defendant complied with the statute. The entry of the summary judgment for the defendant was therefore improper.
Plaintiff also claims that the defendant has waived her rights to defend this action because of a persistent and continuous refusal to comply with the statute, after she was given timely notice thereof. The question of waiver is usually one of fact to be tried on the issues properly defined by the pleadings.1
Our review of any factual questions herein is precluded by failure of the plaintiff to bring before this court the eviden-tiary record below, and we therefore must presume no error was committed in this regard.2
For the reasons stated, this cause be and the same is hereby reversed and remanded for further action consistent herewith.
It is so ordered.
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John A. Dragstrem et ux. v. Willis N. Butts et ux., 370 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)…st DCA 1977), cert. denied, 361 So. 2d 831 (Fla.1978). Accordingly, the trial court did not err in disregarding this claim since it was not timely raised. See Cor-Gal Builders, Inc. v. Southard, 136 So. 2d 244 (Fla.3d DCA 1962); Chaikin v. Skolnick, 201 So. 2d 588 (Fla.3d DCA 1967). Finally, it appears that the prevailing party in an action at law is absolutely entitled to the taxing of costs in his favor. § 57.041, Fla. Stat. (1977). Therefore, the trial court was required to tax costs in favor of Butts, reg…
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Dumor Avionics, Inc. v. Hangar ONE, Inc., 319 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)…he default and with full knowledge thereof. We cannot agree. The question of waiver usually is one of fact to be tried on the issues properly defined by the pleadings. Davis v. Davis, Fla.App.1960, 123 So. 2d 377; Chaikin v. Skolnick, Fla.App.1967, 201 So. 2d 588. Implicit in the trial judge’s ruling as appears in the record and in the amended final judgment is the determination (based upon the conflicting testimony) by the judge, the trier of the facts in the case at bar, that Hangar One, Inc. did not waiv…
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Medsen Dev., Inc. v. Bryant, 376 So. 2d 423 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…Fla.1967); or the procedural one of whether the issue was correctly disposed of on motion for summary judgment against the defendants without a prior specific order granting them time within which to comply with the statute. See Chaikin v. Skolnick, 201 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967); Cor-Gal Builders, Inc. v. Southard, 136 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962); compare Clifford Ragsd6ale, Inc. v. Morganti, Inc., 356 So. 2d 1321 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), cert. denied, 362 So. 2d 1051 (Fla.1978).…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Davis v. Davis, 123 So. 2d 377 (Fla. 1st DCA 1960)
- Stephenson v. Stephenson, 52 So.2d 684 (Fla. 1951)
- Rutig v. Lake JEM Land Co., 155 Fla. 420 (Fla. 1945)
- Cor-Gal Builders, Inc. v. Scotty Southard, 136 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- Althouse v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 183 So. 2d 859 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)
- Yearwood v. Welch, 107 Fla. 143 (Fla. 1932)