CONTINENTAL MORTGAGE INVESTORS, A MASSACHUSETTS BUSINESS TRUST, APPELLANT,
v.
VILLAGE BY THE SEA, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decision to overrule objections to interrogatories, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing discovery regarding other loans made by the plaintiff.
The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling the plaintiff's objections to the interrogatories, as the scope of discovery is broad and allows for inquiry into matters reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence.
[1] Discovery interrogatories are relevant if they seek information reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, even if the information itself woul…
[2] A party cannot raise the issue of discovery being burdensome, oppressive, or harassing for the first time on appeal; such claims must be raised in the trial court.
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 intelligenceThe plaintiff sued to foreclose mortgages. The defendant served interrogatories asking about other loans made by the plaintiff in Florida. The plainti…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Usury Defense cases and more on FLexlaw
Plaintiff sued to foreclose its mortgages. Prior to answer, defendant filed these interrogatories :
“57. Please state whether the plaintiff has lent any money to any person, firm or corporation in the State of Florida during the past five years other than the defendant, VILLAGE BY THE SEA, INC.
“58. If the answer to the foregoing interrogatory is in the affirmative, please state the name and address of each such person, firm or corporation.”
Plaintiff objected to them on the grounds that they were irrelevant and immaterial. Objections being overruled, plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
Without a basis of facts in the record and here for the first time, plaintiff suggests that the interrogatories were burdensome, oppressive and such as to constitute harassment. This posture is rejected for two reasons. First, the matter was not raised in the trial court. Walker v. Hampton, Fla.App.1970, 235 So.2d 325. Second, if a basis for such claim should surface, application may be made for an order of protection. Rule 1.340(b), R.C.P., 30 F.S.A. The trial court may then, depending on the circumstances, tailor the procedure or limit or apply special conditions so as to alleviate the hardship to plaintiff and still honor defendant’s right to make discovery.
The issue before us is simply whether the trial court abused its discretion in approving these two questions.
Rule 1.280(b) provides:
“(b) Scope of Examination. Unless otherwise ordered by the court as provided herein, the deponent may be examined regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter of the■ pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the examining party or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts. It is not ground for objection that the testimony will be inadmissible at the trial if the testimony sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence(Italics supplied.)
In Parker v. Parker, Fla.App.1966, 182 So.2d 498, this court commented on the interpretation and application of the identical predecessor rule, as follows:
“Rule 1.21(b), Fla.R.Civ.P., 30 F.S.A.4,
sets forth the proper scope of these discovery devices and we notice that inquiry may be had as to any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to any claim or defense, and without regard to trial admissibility so long as it seems reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Thus, discovery is not confined solely to pending issues and a party *835may ‘fish’ within these stated limits. We are also mindful in approaching this problem that wide discretion is vested in trial courts in matters of discovery.5
Also of interest is the author’s comment which follows Rule 1.21 in 30 F.S.A. at page 484.6
With this, we have no difficulty in approving the trial court decision. Defendant suggests that his interest centers upon a possible defense of usury. Thus, if he can discover usurious transactions with others, such would be admissible at trial under the principles of River Hills, Inc. v. Edwards, Fla.App.1966, 190 So.2d 415. Also, the discovery of other comparable transactions would possibly assist in establishing the plaintiff’s general modus operandi and its authorship of the loan documents.
Plaintiff argues that usury cannot be maintained because it was required in the loan documents that the law of some other state would govern, which law would permit the collection of interest in excess of that permitted in Florida. We are not impressed. First, that issue has not been determined. Second, we do not decide but wonder if such provision is compatible with Florida public policy and if this may not be considered a device to circumvent the usury statutes and Florida’s legislative intent in limiting the interest that may be charged. 33 Fla.Jur., Usury, § 12.
The order appealed is
Affirmed.
CROSS, J., and ADAMS, ALTO, Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Burroughs Corp. v. White Lumber Sales, Inc., 372 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)…1304 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). The trial court’s resolution of discovery problems should not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of discretion. Abelson v. Bosem, 329 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); Continental Mortgage Investors v. Village By The Sea, Inc., 252 So. 2d 833 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). Here it is clear that the trial court carefully considered the particular interrogatories after a full hearing and presentation of the position of the various parties. We conclude there has been no abuse of discretion demonstra…
-
Abelson v. Arie Lionel Bosem, 329 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)…of that discretion accorded the trial court. See RCP 1.280 (b) and Charles Sales Corp. v. Rovenger, Fla. 1956, 88 So. 2d 551; Girten v. Bouvier, Fla.App. 1963, 155 So. 2d 745; Continental Mortgage Investors v. Village By the Sea, Inc., Fla.App.1971, 252 So. 2d 833. Affirmed.…
-
Suburban Propane v. The Est. OF Ralph Pitcher, 564 So. 2d 1118 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)…ed to what is relevant to the issues, nor is it limited to what would be admissible as evidence at the trial. Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.280(b)(1); Parker v. Parker, 182 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966); Continental Mortgage Investors v. Village by the Sea, Inc., 252 So. 2d 833 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). Murray, 343 So. 2d at 62 (emphasis added). This statement is consistent with federal case law construing the parallel federal rule of civil procedure. Rule 1.280(b)(1) is virtually a verbatim adoption of the first paragraph of…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Parker v. Parker, 182 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966)
- Carson v. The City OF Fort Lauderdale, 173 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965)
- River Hills, Inc. v. Edwards, 190 So. 2d 415 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)
- Walker v. Hampton, 235 So. 2d 325 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970)