JOHNSON & KIRBY, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK OF FORT LAUDERDALE, NOW KNOWN AS ATLANTIC NATIONAL BANK OF FORT LAUDERDALE, ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1976-11-02
No. 75-1619
Before HENDRY and NATHAN, JJ., and SACK, MARTIN, Associate Judge.
338 So. 2d 905 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1976) Caution
Cited by 34 cases

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Synopsis

Johnson & Kirby, Inc. appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Citizens National Bank in a replevin action over two boats. The court reversed, holding that a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding whether Johnson & Kirby was a buyer in the ordinary course of business, which would cut off the bank's security interest.


Holding

The court reversed the summary judgment, holding that when a defendant pleads an affirmative defense and the plaintiff fails to contradict or deny that defense by affidavit, the plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment. A genuine issue of material fact existed regarding the buyer-in-ordinary-course-of-business defense that precluded summary judgment.


Headnotes

[1] A party moving for summary judgment is not entitled to judgment if the opposing party pleads an affirmative defense and the moving party fails to contradict or deny that…

[2] Summary judgment is appropriate only when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, and affidavits show no genuine issue as to any material fact…

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Key Quotes

“The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”

Statement of the summary judgment standard under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510

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Facts & Procedural History

Citizens National Bank held perfected security interests in two boats manufactured by Broadbill Marine Corporation pursuant to signed security agreeme…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, defendant and third party plaintiff in the court below, appeals from a final judgment entered by the trial court, subsequent to its granting appellee’s plaintiff below, motion for summary judgment as to the issue of liability.

Appellee, Citizens National Bank of Fort Lauderdale, now known as Atlantic National Bank of Fort Lauderdale, filed its complaint for replevin against appellant Johnson and Kirby, Inc., alleging that by virtue of a prior perfected security interest, appel-lee was entitled to possession of two boats held by appellant. Attached to the complaint were copies of two security agreements signed by Broadbill Marine Corporation, the manufacturer of the boats, in favor of the appellee bank. Subsequent to the bank’s perfection of the security interest, Broadbill sold the boats to appellant.

Appellant answered appellee’s complaint stating as an affirmative defense, inter alia, that it was a buyer in the ordinary course of business as defined in Fla.Stat.Ann., Sec. 671.201(9). On January 9, 1975 appellee filed a motion for summary judgment. Both appellant and appellee filed affidavits in support of their respective positions. On February 4, 1975, the trial court granted a summary judgment as to liability against the appellant and on September 19, 1975, a final judgment, based on the summary judgment was entered awarding damages to appellee. Appellants bring this appeal from the entry of this final judgment.

Appellant’s basic contention is that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment as to liability because the evidence presented at the time of the hearing created a genuine issue of a material fact, i. e., whether appellant was a buyer in the ordinary course of business. Appellee contends that there were no genuine issues of material fact and it was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law and fact.

Rule" 1.510, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 31 F.S.A., pertaining to summary judgments provides, inter alia, as follows:

“The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”

As an affirmative defense, in its answer, appellant claimed the status of a buyer in the ordinary course of business. After examining the various pleadings, depositions, briefs and affidavits we can find no contravention of that allegation. As we stated in Underwriters Insurance Company v. Sisung, 174 So. 2d 461 (Fla.3d DCA 1965), where a defendant pleads an affirmative defense and the plaintiff does not by affidavit contradict or deny that defense, the plaintiff is not entitled to a summary judgment.

We have considered the record, all points in the briefs and arguments of counsel in the light of the controlling principles of law, and have concluded that reversible error has been demonstrated. Therefore, for the reasons stated and upon the authorities cited, the final judgment appealed, based on the summary judgment as to liability, is reversed and remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

Reversed and remanded.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (17 total)

  • Raben Builders, Inc. v. First Am. Bank & Tr. Co., 561 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
    …ck’s own negligence in failing to uncover the embezzlement, was left unrebutted by Peat Mar-wick, unresolved by the court and thereby precluded the entry of summary judgment, citing, Johnson & Kirby Inc. v. Citizens National Bank of Fort Lauderdale, 338 So. 2d 905 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). In Johnson the court found that the appellant’s affirmative defense raised a genuine issue of material fact, and on finding no contravention of the affirmative defense in the record, the court held that summary judgment was impro…
  • Naywin Maung v. Nat'l Stamping, LLC, 842 So. 2d 214 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)
    …efendant pleads an affirmative defense and the plaintiff does not, by affidavit or other sworn evidence, negate or deny that defense, the plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment. Johnson & Kirby, Inc. v. Citizens Nat’l Bank of Fort Lauderdale, 338 So. 2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); see also Fasano v. Hicks, 667 So. 2d 1033, 1034 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (finding that in absence of some proof contradicting or opposing affirmative defense, entry of summary judgment is improper). In this case, although National…
  • Calarese v. Weissfisch, 87 So. 3d 1225 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)
    …(“Where a defendant pleads an affirmative defense and the plaintiff does not by affidavit contradict or deny that defense, the plaintiff is not entitled to a summary judgment.” (quoting Johnson & Kirby, Inc. v. Citizens Nat’l Bank of Ft. Lauderdale, 338 So. 2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976))). A careful review of the record in this case reflects Weissbach failed to conclusively refute the affirmative defenses raised by Maria Calarese, including, at a minimum: (1) the third-party complaint failed to state a caus…

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