NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL, A NEW YORK CORPORATION, NOT FOR PROFIT, APPELLANT,
v.
FRANK S. COSTA AND VICTORIA COSTA, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1971-01-19
No. 70-230
Before HENDRY and SWANN, JJ., and NATHAN, RAYMOND G., Associate Judge,
243 So. 2d 13 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1971) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

National Council of Young Israel appealed the dismissal of its complaint against the Costas regarding breach of an option to purchase agreement. The court reversed the lower court's judgment on the pleadings, holding that the plaintiff's allegations—including an oral modification of the written option agreement supported by a writing—stated a sufficient cause of action and should not have been dismissed at the pleadings stage.


Holding

The court held that the allegations stated a cause of action and that entry of judgment on the pleadings was error. The lower court should not have dismissed the complaint based on the pleadings alone, as the critical factual dispute regarding whether the amendment affected both the "option to purchase" clause and the "extension of agreements" clause required proof beyond the pleadings.


Headnotes

[1] A motion for judgment on the pleadings should be granted only if the pleadings, taken in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, fail to state a cause of action…

[2] Allegations of a written option, its oral modification supported by a writing signed by the party to be charged, compliance with the amended option, timely exercise of th…

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

Key Quotes

“where plaintiff alleged the existence of a written option, the oral modification thereof, supported by a writing signed by the party to be charged, plaintiff's compliance with the terms and conditions of that amended option, the exercise of that option within the time prescribed in the amended option, and the refusal of the defendants to close the transaction, is such sufficient to state a cause of action and withstand a motion for judgment on the pleadings at the close of the pleadings?”

States the central legal question the court addresses regarding whether the allegations constitute a valid cause of action.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

National Council of Young Israel entered into a deposit receipt contract with the Costas to purchase realty that included an "Option to Purchase Agree…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
HENDRY, Judge.

HENDRY, Judge.

Appellant-plaintiff, National Council of Young Israel, entered into a deposit receipt contract to purchase certain realty from appellee-defendants, the Costas. As a part of such contract, the parties executed an “Option to Purchase Agreement”; its alleged breach is the subject of this appeal.

The point appealed is whether the lower court erred in dismissing plaintiff’s complaints, and in entering final judgment in favor of the defendants upon the basis of the defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings. In more specific terms, where plaintiff alleged the existence of a written option, the oral modification thereof, supported by a writing signed by the party to be charged, plaintiff’s compliance with the terms and conditions of that amended option, the exercise of that option within the time prescribed in the amended option, and the refusal of the defendants to close the transaction, is such sufficient to state a cause of action and withstand a motion for judgment on the pleadings at the close of the pleadings? We are of the view that the allegations stated a cause of action and that the entry of judgment on the pleadings was error.

A general discussion of the Florida law respecting judgments on the pleadings appears in Butts v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Fla.App.1968, 207 So.2d 73.

At issue in the lower court was whether the clause dealing with the option to purchase and the clause dealing with extention of • agreements were separate and distinct agreements, although contained in the same document. The lower court evidently concluded that the amendment of May 1, 1967, to the document entitled “Option to Purchase Agreement” only involved the “option to purchase” clause and not the “ex-tention of agreements” clause. A determination that the amendment only affected the “option to purchase” clause would preclude the plaintiff from stating a cause of action, for the option contract would have elapsed before the plaintiff’s exercise of the option under its original terms. However, such a conclusion should be reached upon the basis of proof, and the exhibits appended to the pleadings here are insufficient upon which to base such a conclusion, particularly where the crux of the suit is the terms of the parties’ amendment to the original document. See: 4 Williston on Contracts, § 595, pp. 224-230 and § 597, pp. 252-253 (3d ed.).

Reversed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Spindler v. Kushner, 284 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973)
    …the contract is for the trial court, but unless it clearly appears as a matter of law that the contract cannot support the action alleged, the complaint should not be dismissed on motion. See National Council of Young Israel v. Costa, Fla.App.1971, 243 So. 2d 13. In the case at bar, the supplemental contract can, in our opinion, be reasonably interpreted as the counterclaimants urge, and the actions of the parties to the contract may be considered as indicating their interpretation of its meaning. See Orlan…
  • Bryan v. Braun Cadillac, Inc., 599 So. 2d 1050 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
    …or failure to state a cause of action.” Vienneau, at 860, citing Helms v. General Film Development Corp., 346 So. 2d 1064 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Spindler v. Kushner, 284 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). See also National Council of Young Israel v. Costa, 243 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971). In dismissing Bryan’s complaint, the trial court had to ignore the terms of the first refusal agreement that required a closing under terms substantially in accordance with the purchase agreement revealed to Bryan. It is a rule o…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw