WAVESTONE PROPERTIES, LLC, AND 17315 COLLINS AVENUE, LLC, APPELLANTS,
v.
FORTUNE DEVELOPMENT SALES CORPORATION, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Fortune Development Sales Corporation obtained a judgment against Wavestone Properties for breach of an exclusive real estate listing agreement and sought to enforce it through proceedings supplementary. The trial court granted a temporary injunction freezing condominium sale proceeds and imposed a judgment lien on real property owned by Wavestone's subsidiary, 17315 Collins Avenue, LLC, by piercing the corporate veil. The appellate court reversed relief against 17315 due to lack of proper notice and hearing, but affirmed the injunction against Wavestone as the judgment debtor.
The court reversed the temporary injunction against 17315 and the judgment lien on 17315's property because the relief was not properly noticed for hearing and 17315 had not been served with notice of the hearing date. The court affirmed the temporary injunction against Wavestone as the actual judgment debtor but limited it to closing proceeds in Wavestone's custody, not those in 17315's custody. The court did not reach the question of whether piercing the corporate veil was proper, as reversal of all relief against 17315 rendered that analysis unnecessary.
[1] A trial court errs by granting relief against a party that has not been properly noticed for a hearing on that specific relief.
[2] A party seeking post-judgment relief against a third party must provide proper notice to that third party before the relief can be granted.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“The defense objection was well taken. The only matter which had been noticed for hearing on June 1 was the statutory examination of Wavestone regarding its "business and financial interests ... which may tend to show what property he or she has and its location."”
Establishes that 17315 was not properly noticed for hearing regarding the injunction and lien relief sought against it
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFortune and Wavestone entered into an exclusive real estate listing agreement in 2003 whereby Fortune would market and sell condominium units being de…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Proceedings Supplementary To Execution cases and more on FLexlaw
COPE, J.
This is an appeal of an order granting a temporary injunction and other relief in proceedings supplementary. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Plaintiff Fortune Development Sales Corporation obtained a final judgment for $1,509,899 against defendant-appellant Wavestone Properties, LLC. The judgment was entered after a bench trial determining that Wavestone had breached an exclusive real estate listing agreement between Fortune, as broker, and Wavestone.
Wavestone and defendant-appellant 17315 Collins Avenue, LLC are parent and subsidiary companies. The subsidiary, 17315, owns real estate at 17315 Collins Avenue on which a condominium building is being developed. The parent company, Wavestone, owns the membership inter ests in 17315, and is the managing member of 17315.
In 2003, Wavestone and Fortune entered into the exclusive real estate listing agreement whereby Fortune would market and sell the condominium units. Wave-stone later terminated that agreement. After a bench trial, the court found Wave-stone had breached the contract. The court awarded $1,509,899 in damages.
Fortune initiated proceedings supplementary. See § 56.29, Fla. Stat. (2007). At a hearing, the trial court imposed a temporary injunction freezing the net proceeds from the closing of sales of the condominium units. The court also pierced the corporate veil and allowed the judgment against Wavestone to operate as a lien against the real estate owned by 17315. This appeal followed.
We reverse the temporary injunction against 17315, and the order impressing the judgment lien upon the property owned by 17315. We do so because the request for this relief had not been noticed for hearing, and there was a timely objection on this ground.
In the postjudgment proceedings, Fortune filed two different motions. One of these was a motion for proceedings supplementary in aid of execution. Fortune sought to compel Wavestone to appear for examination regarding Wavestone’s financial matters. See id. § 56.29(4). By separate motion, Fortune also moved to implead 17315 as a third party in the proceedings supplementary. This motion was granted, and 17315 filed a motion to dismiss.
The trial court entered an order requiring Wavestone to appear before the trial judge on May 17, 2007 to be examined concerning its property. By agreement of the parties, the court entered an order rescheduling this examination for June 1, 2007.
On May 30, Fortune filed a memorandum outlining the relief which it sought during the proceedings supplementary. The memorandum included a request for a temporary injunction and imposition of the judgment lien on the property of 17315.
At the hearing on June 1, Fortune presented an opening statement in which it requested the temporary injunction against Wavestone and 17315, and imposition of the judgment lien against 17315. In response, defense counsel objected that 17315 “is not a party to these proceedings today so with respect to any actions taken against them today or an attempt to I would object to that.” Over that objection, the court entertained Fortune’s request for relief. Defense counsel reiterated the objection twice later in the proceedings.
The defense objection was well taken. The only matter which had been noticed for hearing on June 1 was the statutory examination of Wavestone regarding its “business and financial interests ... which may tend to show what property he or she has and its location.” Id.
It is true that in addition to the court order requiring Wavestone to be present for examination on June 1, Fortune also sent out a renotice of hearing stating that the matter to be heard was “Proceedings Supplementary to Execution.” That re-notice was directed to Wavestone, not 17315. Further, when that renotice was sent, Fortune had filed nothing which requested injunctive or other relief. Since defense counsel’s objection with regard to 17315 was well taken, the objection should have been sustained and the request for relief against 17315 should not have been considered. See First Union National Bank v. Peoples National Bank of Commerce, 644 So. 2d 538, 539 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); see also Connell v. Capital City Partners, LLC, 932 So. 2d 442, 443-44 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Camji v. Helmsley, 602 So. 2d 617, 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). We therefore reverse the temporary injunction against 17315 and reverse that part of the order which imposed the judgment lien on the property of 17315. Because we are reversing all relief as to 17315, we need not reach the defendants’ alternative argument that the trial court erred by piercing the corporate veil.
Our reversal is without prejudice to Fortune to file a motion for temporary injunction or other relief on remand, and to schedule a hearing on proper notice. It was pro cedurally incorrect to place the request for temporary injunction and other relief in a memorandum without filing a motion. Further, any request to pierce the corporate veil must satisfy the standards of Dania Jai-Alai Palace, Inc. v. Sykes, 450 So. 2d 1114 (Fla.1984). We express no opinion on the merits of any motion Fortune may file.
Because defense counsel did not make an objection regarding lack of notice with respect to Wavestone, we do not disturb the temporary injunction against Wave-stone. We leave it intact solely on the basis that Wavestone is the actual judgment debtor, and not on any theory of piercing the corporate veil. The temporary injunction would therefore apply only to closing proceeds which reach Wave-stone’s custody, but does not reach closing proceeds in the custody of 17315.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
17315 Collins Ave., LLC v. Fortune Dev. Sales Corp., 34 So. 3d 166 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)…f sales of the condominium units. The court also pierced the corporate veil and allowed [*168] the judgment against Wavestone to operate as a lien against the real estate owned by 17315. Wavestone Properties, LLC v. Fortune Development Sales Corp., 978 So. 2d 830, 830-31 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008). We affirmed the temporary injunction as to Wavestone, but reversed all relief against 17315 because of insufficient notice. Id. at 831-32. On remand Fortune moved for injunc-tive and other relief and gave proper notice.…
Authorities Cited
- Dania Jai-Alai Palace, Inc. v. Sykes, 450 So. 2d 1114 (Fla. 1984)
- Connell v. Cap. City P'rs, LLC, 932 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)
- First Union Nat'l Bank OF Fla., N.A. v. Peoples Nat'l Bank OF Commerce, 644 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)
- In the Interest of Baby BOY B, 602 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
- Camji v. Helmsley, 602 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)