BOOKWORKS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
CAPITAL C CORP. AND CECILY SILBERMAN, AS TRUSTEE OF R & S PARTNERSHIP, APPELLEES
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Bookworks appealed a trial court's denial of its motion to amend its complaint and entry of summary judgment against it. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying the amendment motion and improperly applying collateral estoppel against a non-party to the prior litigation.
The trial court erred by denying the motion to amend, as Florida law requires liberal allowance of amendments when justice requires, particularly when the amendment is sought before summary judgment. Additionally, collateral estoppel cannot apply because Bookworks was neither a party to nor in privity with parties to the prior action.
[1] Leave to amend a complaint should be freely granted when justice requires, particularly when the amendment is sought prior to a hearing on a motion for summary judgment.
[2] A motion to amend a complaint should be granted if the proposed amendment is based on the same transaction as the original complaint and has a direct bearing on a pending…
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“Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a) instructs courts to grant leave to amend freely when justice so requires.”
Establishes the liberal standard for allowing amendments to complaints
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBookworks filed a motion for leave to amend its complaint to include an additional count four months before the summary judgment hearing. The new coun…
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BASKIN, Judge.
Appellant Bookworks, Inc., [Bookworks] challenges the trial court’s entry of an adverse summary judgment following denial of Bookworks’ motion for leave to amend its complaint and entry of an order granting Capital C Corporation [Capital] relief from final summary judgment. We reverse.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a) instructs courts to grant leave to amend freely when justice so requires. A request to grant such a privilege is especially compelling when a party seeks to amend prior to a hearing on a motion for summary judgment. Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 449 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Here, Bookworks filed a motion for leave to include an additional count in the complaint four months before the hearing. The added count was based on the same transaction as the counts in the initial complaint, and had a direct bearing on Capital’s motion for summary judgment. Thus, the trial court should have granted Bookworks’ motion for leave to amend.
We also find error in the trial court’s grant of Capital’s motion for relief from summary judgment and motion for final summary judgment.1 Collateral estoppel may be applied only where the parties and issues are identical and where a particular matter has been fully litigated and determined in prior litigation which has resulted in a final decision in a court of competent jurisdiction. Mobil Oil Corp. v. Shevin, 354 So. 2d 372 (Fla.1977); Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Race, 508 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Husky Indus., Inc. v. Griffith, 422 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Weigh Less for Life, Inc. v. Barnett Bank of Orange Park, 399 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); see Trucking Employees of N. Jersey Welfare Fund, Inc. v. Romano, 450 So. 2d 843 (Fla.1984). Because Bookworks was neither a party to the related action nor in privity with any party, collateral estoppel does not apply. Prudential Ins. Co. v. Turkal, 528 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).
Reversed and remanded.
. The trial court appears to have made these rulings in an effort to be consistent with the decision of this court in Designers Tile Int'l Corp. v. Capitol C Corp., 499 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Isabelle Kimball v. Publix Super Mkts., Inc., 901 So. 2d 293 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…mend shall be freely given when justice so requires, and a request to grant a motion to amend is especially compelling when made prior to or at a hearing on a motion for summary judgment. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.190(a); Bookworks, Inc. v. Capital C Corp., 529 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Thompson Aircraft Tire Corp., 353 So. 2d 137, 141 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Refusal to allow an amendment is an abuse of the trial court’s discretion “unless it clearly appears that allowing the amendment…
Authorities Cited
- Vallen James Trumps v. State, 354 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 1977)
- Trucking Emps. OF N. Jersey Welf. Fund, Inc. v. Romano, 450 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 1984)
- Husky Indus., Inc. v. Griffith, 422 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
- Weigh Less FOR Life, Inc. v. Barnett Bank OF Orange Park, 399 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Race, 508 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
- In re the Est. OF Arthur S. Kaufman v. Kaufman, 499 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- Designers Tile Int'l Corp. v. Capitol C Corp., 499 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- OLD Republic Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 449 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Prudential Ins. Co. OF Am. v. Turkal, 528 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)