IF SIX WERE NINE, LLC, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
LINCOLN ROAD III, LLC, ETC., ET AL., APPELLEES.
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If Six Were Nine, LLC appeals the dismissal of its commercial lease dispute claims against Lincoln Road III, LLC and Terranova Corporation. The court holds that the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing the claims with prejudice without allowing the plaintiff an opportunity to amend, despite prior assurances that amendment would be permitted.
The trial court abused its discretion by dismissing all claims against Lincoln Road and Terranova with prejudice without affording the plaintiff an opportunity to amend. Where a party may allege additional facts to support its cause of action or support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion.
[1] An appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction when related claims against a party remain pending and unadjudicated in the trial court.
[2] Dismissal with prejudice of all claims against a party is an abuse of discretion when the party has not been given an opportunity to amend its complaint, especially after…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Where a party may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion.”
Establishes the legal standard that dismissal with prejudice is improper when the plaintiff could potentially allege additional facts or alternative legal theories.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIf Six Were Nine, LLC filed a commercial lease dispute against Lincoln Road III, LLC, Terranova Corporation, and PPF LRIII Portfolio, LLC. The plainti…
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*1188In this commercial lease dispute, If Six Were Nine, LLC, etc. ("the plaintiff") appeals the trial court's order dismissing all of the plaintiff's claims against Lincoln Road III, LLC, etc. ("Lincoln Road") and Terranova Corporation ("Terranova") and dismissing some of the plaintiff's claims against PPF LRIII Portfolio, LLC ("PPF"). We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction as to PPF because there are related claims against PPF pending in the case below that have not yet been adjudicated. See Almacenes El Globo De Quito, S.A. v. Dalbeta L.C., 181 So.3d 559, 561-62 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015).
However, we find that the trial court abused its discretion when it entered an order dismissing with prejudice all of the plaintiff's claims against Lincoln Road and Terranova because the plaintiff was given, in effect, no opportunity to amend its complaint to allege additional facts or other causes of action, despite the trial court's assurances that the plaintiff would have an opportunity to amend. See Vorbeck v. Betancourt, 107 So.3d 1142, 1147 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) ("Where a party may be able to allege additional facts to support its cause of action or to support another cause of action based on a different legal theory, dismissal with prejudice is an abuse of discretion.") (quoting Kapley v. Borchers, 714 So.2d 1217, 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) ); Al-Hakim v. Holder, 787 So.2d 939, 942 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (stating that "dismissal with prejudice is a severe sanction and one which was not warranted when Al-Hakim had not been given an opportunity to amend his petition").
The plaintiff amended its complaint once as a matter of right before any responsive pleading had been filed. Thus, the trial court's ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss was the first time the sufficiency of the operative complaint had been tested. See Hawkins v. Crosby, 910 So.2d 424, 425 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (stating that even if the plaintiff amended his complaint once as a matter of right pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.190(a), he should have been given another opportunity to amend because he had not abused the privilege). Under these circumstances, it was an abuse of discretion to preclude the plaintiff from amending its complaint.1 Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order dismissing the plaintiff's claims against Lincoln Road and Terranova and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Dismissed in part, reversed in part.
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Innova Inv. Grp., LLC v. Rolle (Fla. 3d DCA 2022)…t amendment. The order on appeal, although entered without prejudice by noting that “plaintiff may file a landlord-tenant case,” improperly denied the motion to amend and dismissed the cause. See If Six Were Nine, LLC v. Lincoln Road III, LLC, 242 So. 3d 1187, 1188 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (explaining circumstances in which amendment should be permitted); see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.190(a) (“[a] party may amend a pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served”). Accor…
Authorities Cited
- Vorbeck v. Betancourt, 107 So. 3d 1142 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)
- Kenneth Kapley, D.D.S. v. Borchers, 714 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
- Almacenes EL Globo de Quito v. Dalbeta L.C., 181 So. 3d 559 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)
- Marzuk Al-Hakim v. Bennie R. Holder, 787 So. 2d 939 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Hawkins v. Crosby, 910 So. 2d 424 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)