FREDRICK L. WEINBERG, APPELLANT,
v.
EAST LAKE WOODLANDS, LTD., FLORIDA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, APPELLEE
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The court held that a complaint alleging wrongful termination of country club membership without notice and hearing states a cause of action.
Appellant sued appellee country club for wrongful termination of his membership, alleging he was not provided with notice or a hearing. The trial cour…
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[*376] PER CURIAM.
Appellant contends the trial court erred in dismissing his complaint for failure to state a cause of action. We agree.
Appellant filed a complaint seeking damages and an injunction against what he claimed was the wrongful termination of his membership in appellee’s country club.1 He alleged that upon payment of a fee he was accepted as a member of the club and that he had conducted himself in accordance with all of its rules and regulations. He further alleged that the club had terminated his membership contrary to those rules and regulations and that it failed to provide him with notice and a hearing concerning its proposed expulsion of him. Subsequently, on motion of appellee, the trial court dismissed appellant’s complaint with prejudice. In so doing, the trial judge observed that he did not think that the controversy between appellant and appellee was a proper one for resolution through the judicial process.
While courts have often been wary of entering into disputes between private social clubs and their members, it has long been the rule in Florida that a person has a right to notice and a hearing when a club proposes to cancel his membership. Moreover, the cancellation must comport with the applicable bylaws or regulations of the club. LaGorce Country Club v. Cerami, 74 So. 2d 95 (Fla.1954); State ex rel. Barfield v. Florida Yacht Club, 106 So. 2d 207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1958). In. view of these rules, we think that appellant’s complaint stated a cause of action. Of course, we do not reach the merits of appellant’s contention.
In view of our decision we need not discuss the other point which appellant has raised. We vacate the trial court’s order dismissing appellant’s complaint and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
GRIMES, C. J., and SCHEB and RYDER, JJ., concur. . Appellee, East Lake Woodlands, LTD is a Florida Limited Partnership. It owns and operates the East Lake Woodlands Golf and Country Club.
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Citator
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The Everglades Protective Syndicate, Inc. v. Makinney, 391 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)…t 98. The statute, § 617.10(2), requires only that members “be given an opportunity to be heard, ...” before their membership is terminated. The rights afforded by the statute have recently been articulated in Weinberg v. East Lake Woodlands, Ltd., 362 So. 2d 375, 376 (Fla.2d DCA 1978). While courts have often been wary of entering into disputes between private social clubs and their members, it has long been the rule in Florida that a person has a right to notice and a hearing when a club proposes to cance…
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Boca W. Club, Inc. v. Levine, 578 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…es moved for summary judgment. The court entered final summary judgment in favor of the appellees. There is no question that Boca West Club, Inc. is a private social club (a country club). As such, the rule of Weinberg v. East Lake Woodlands, Ltd., 362 So. 2d 375, 376 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978) which this court adopted in Everglades Protective Syndicate v. Makinney, 391 So. 2d 262, 265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980) applies: While courts have often been wary of entering into disputes between private social clubs and their mem…
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Horner v. Homestead S. Dade Bd. OF Realtors, Inc., 405 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)…is clear that while the Florida courts recognize a remedy for the failure to provide a fair hearing that remedy typically has been an injunction or declaratory judgment. The Second District Court of Appeal, in Weinberg v. East Lake Woodlands, Ltd., 362 So. 2d 375 (Fla.2d DCA 1978), held that a complaint seeking an injunction as well as money damages for the wrongful termination of membership in a country club stated a cause of action. However, Weinberg, supra, is distinguishable because there it was alleged…
Authorities Cited
- La Gorce Country Club v. Cerami, 74 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 1954)
- State of Fla. ex rel. William D. Barfield v. Fla. Yacht Club, 106 So. 2d 207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1958)