17070 COLLINS AVENUE, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
GRANITE STATE INSURANCE COMPANY, A PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION, AND TRI INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, D/B/A ADVANCED INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1998-11-04
Nos. 97-1659, 97-1504
Before JORGENSON, COPE and GERSTEN, JJ.
720 So. 2d 1132 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1998) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

R.K. Associates, owner of a shopping center, appealed the dismissal of its complaint against an insurer and insurance agent. The trial court had dismissed the complaint with prejudice after ordering the insured to add an express request for rescission of a release/settlement agreement. The appellate court reversed the dismissal, finding the complaint sufficiently alleged fraud to vitiate the release agreement and that the agent's complaint stated a valid cause of action.


Holding

The Second Amended Complaint sufficiently alleged fraud to vitiate the release/settlement agreement by operation of law, and the complaint against the agent stated a valid cause of action. The trial court erred in dismissing the complaint with prejudice.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint sufficiently alleges fraud to vitiate a release or settlement agreement when the allegations, construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, establis…

[2] A release or settlement agreement may be set aside if sufficient evidence establishes that it was obtained by fraud.

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Key Quotes

“The standard of review for an order for involuntary dismissal is whether the contents of the complaint are sufficient to constitute a valid claim when construing the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, but limiting the consideration to the complaint's four corners.”

Establishes the applicable standard of review for dismissal motions in Florida.

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Facts & Procedural History

R.K. Associates owned the 17070 Collins Avenue Shopping Center and purchased an insurance policy through an agent. The insurer later rescinded the pol…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

R.K. Associates, owner of the 17070 Collins Avenue Shopping Center (“insured”), appeals the trial court’s final order dismissing its Second Amended Complaint with prejudice1; Granite State Insurance Co. (“insurer”) cross appeals the denial of its motion for attorneys’ fees; and Tri State Insurance Underwriters, Inc. (“agent”), also a defendant below, cross appeals the denial of its motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint. For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court’s order of dismissal, dismiss the insurer’s cross appeal as moot, and affirm the trial court’s order denying the agent’s motion to dismiss.

The Second Amended Complaint filed by the insured alleged causes of action against the insurer and the agent that procured the policy in question on the insured’s behalf. Specifically, the complaint alleged, as against the insurer: 1) breach of the insurance contract upon the insurer’s rescission; 2) bad faith in entering a release/settlement agreement with the insured in an effort to circumvent obligations under the policy; 3) fraud in the inducement of the release/settlement agreement; and 4) intentional interference as to the business relationship between the insured and his commercial tenants. As against the agent, the complaint alleged negligence in procuring the policy which provided the grounds for rescission claimed by the insurer. Following the trial court’s denial of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment, the court ordered a case management conference. At the conference, the trial judge expressed concerns over the release/settlement agreement. He concluded that, in addition to the allegations already charged in the First Amended Complaint, the insured was also required to expressly request that the release/settlement agreement be rescinded for the complaint to sufficiently support a claim that fraud vitiated the agreement. He instructed the insured to amend the complaint to reflect such a request. After the insured filed his Second Amended Complaint, in accordance with the trial court’s instructions, the court granted the insurer’s motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice. However, the release/settlement agreement did not include, and thus did not apply to, the agent.

The standard of review for an order for involuntary dismissal is whether the contents of the complaint are sufficient to constitute a valid claim when construing the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, but limiting the consideration to the complaint’s four corners. See De Ribeaux v. Del Valle, 531 So. 2d 992 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); N.E. at West Palm Beach, Inc. v. Horowitz, 471 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Midflorida Schs. Fed. Credit Union v. Fansler, 404 So. 2d 1178 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). The Second Amended Complaint sufficiently alleges fraud so as to vitiate the release/settlement agreement by operation of law. See Henson v. James M. Barker Co., Inc., 555 So. 2d 901 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (holding that the trial court erred in dismissing the amended corn- plaint with prejudice because a release agreement may be set aside where the evidence is sufficient to establish it has been obtained by fraud). Moreover, the trial court had no viable basis upon which to dismiss insured’s complaint against the agent, as it stated a cause of action.

We, therefore, reverse the trial court’s order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Accordingly, the insurer’s cross appeal for attorneys’ fees is dismissed as moot. On the cross appeal, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the agent’s motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

. The trial court did not stale its reason for granting the motion to dismiss.


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Cited By

  • Wiley Webb v. Town Council OF Town OF Hilliard, 766 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
    …ial court’s consideration is limited to the four corners of the complaint, the allegations of which must be accepted as true. See Gladstone v. Smith, 729 So. 2d 1002, 1003 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); 17070 Collins Avenue v. Granite State Insurance Company, 720 So. 2d 1132, 1133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), review denied, 732 So. 2d 326 (Fla.1999). “Dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion where a pleader may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or support another cause of action under a…
  • Mejia v. Egleston (Fla. 3d DCA 2021)
    …ate a cause of action, and must confine its review to the four corners of the complaint to determine whether the complaint alleges sufficient ultimate facts that would entitle a plaintiff to relief); 17070 Colins Avenue v. Granite State Ins. Co., 720 So. 2d 1132, 1133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)(holding: “The standard of review for an order for involuntary dismissal is whether the contents of the complaint are sufficient to constitute a valid claim when construing the complaint in the light most favorable to the…

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