Merger Doctrine

163 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Callanan v. United States
  364 U.S. 587· U.S.· 1961-01-09 ·cited 551×
  A conspiracy and the substantive offense that is its object are distinct crimes that may be cumulatively punished, even if prosecuted under the same statutory provision.
• Liberty Am. Ins. Grp., Inc. v. Westpoint Underwriters, L.L.C.
  2001 WL 1850837· M.D. Fla.· 2001-03-15 ·cited 353×
  The court denied plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, agreeing with the magistrate judge's recommendation that plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of most of their claims.
• Brooks v. State
  918 So. 2d 181· Fla.· 2005-06-23 ·cited 158×
  This case involves Lamar Brooks' appeal of his conviction and death sentences for the first-degree murders of Rachel Carlson and her infant daughter, Alexis Stuart. This is Brooks' second appeal after his initial conviction was reversed in 2001 due to erroneous hearsay testimony.
• United States v. Penn-Olin Chem. Co.
  378 U.S. 158· U.S.· 1964-06-22 ·cited 154×
  A joint venture is subject to Section 7 of the Clayton Act, and the formation of Penn-Olin may have substantially lessened competition by eliminating potential competition between its parent companies.
• Bateman v. Mnemonics, Inc.
  79 F.3d 1532· 11th Cir.· 1996-03-22 ·cited 89×
  The Eleventh Circuit vacated the district court's judgment on copyright infringement counts for computer software and hardware logic diagrams, remanding for a new trial due to erroneous jury instructions regarding the "abstraction-filtration-comparison" test and the failure to in
• United States v. Casperson
  773 F.2d 216· 8th Cir.· 1985-09-17 ·cited 60×
  The court held that the trial court erred by failing to give a requested good faith or theory of defense instruction, and that the evidence was insufficient to support Ruis' conviction.
• Wilson v. Clark
  414 So. 2d 526· Fla. 1st DCA· 1982-04-01 ·cited 58×
  Ray Wilson appealed the denial of his motion to dismiss a complaint for lease cancellation and rescission filed by Effie Steele. The case was tried and judgment entered in Steele's favor, but she died before the personal representative could be substituted within the 90-day deadl
• Brundage v. United States
  365 F.2d 616· 10th Cir.· 1966-09-06 ·cited 44×
  The court held that the trial court did not err in its voir dire or jury instructions and that sufficient proof existed for the assault conviction.
• Gabel v. Simmons
  100 Fla. 526· Fla.· 1930-08-02 ·cited 44×
  G. W. Gabel appeals a directed verdict against him for $7,500 in a real estate dispute. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a special provision in a purchase contract allowing refund of payments if the buyer was dissatisfied after 90 days remained enforceable even th
• Braswell v. Braswell
  881 So. 2d 1193· Fla. 3d DCA· 2004-09-15 ·cited 41×
  In this divorce settlement dispute, the Third District Court of Appeal held that a $75,000 per month default interest provision on missed equitable distribution payments is equitable distribution, not support, and therefore cannot be enforced by contempt. The court reversed the t
• Bellsouth Advertising & Publ'g Corp. v. Donnelley Info. Publ'g, Inc.
  999 F.2d 1436· 11th Cir.· 1993-09-02 ·cited 41×
  The court held that the plaintiff's yellow pages directory constituted a copyrightable compilation because its selection of classified headings, arrangement of business listings under those headings, selection of businesses with business telephone service, and selection of a geog
• United States v. Reed
  647 F.2d 678· 6th Cir.· 1981-04-29 ·cited 40×
  The court held that counts 1 and 2 should have been merged as they constituted a single offense under 18 U.S.C. § 2315, and that while the admission of prior bad acts evidence was improper, it was harmless error given the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
• State v. Sturdivant
  94 So. 3d 434· Fla.· 2012-02-23 ·cited 38×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that the merger doctrine does not preclude a first-degree felony-murder conviction based on a single act of aggravated child abuse that caused the child's death. The Court receded from its prior decision in Brooks v. State, reasoning that because th
• The Toro Co. v. R & R Prods. Co.
  787 F.2d 1208· 8th Cir.· 1986-03-28 ·cited 38×
  The court held that appellant's parts numbering system lacks the requisite originality for copyright protection, and the jury's verdict of no unfair competition was supported by the evidence.
• Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co. v. Bd. of Bond Trs. of Special Rd. & Bridge Dist. No. 1 of Alachua Cnty.
  91 Fla. 612· Fla.· 1926-04-13 ·cited 37×
  Seaboard Air Line Railway Company sought to enjoin the Board of Bond Trustees from constructing a road over its granted right of way in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court held that the railway's right of way, granted by legislative act in 1855 under a public grant for internal im
• Gov't of the Virgin Islands v. Warren P. Berry. Appeal of Warren Berry. Appeal of Guillermo Brignoni
  604 F.2d 221· 3d Cir.· 1979-08-07 ·cited 34×
  The defendants' convictions for kidnapping must be reversed because they lacked the specific intent to commit an offense proscribed by the kidnapping statute, specifically the intent to exact money at the time of the alleged seizure and confinement.
• Goodall v. Whispering Woods Ctr., L.L.C.
  990 So. 2d 695· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-09-24 ·cited 33×
  Michael Goodall, as assignee of MKJH, LLC, appealed the dismissal of his reformation claim against Whispering Woods Center for allegedly changing contracted 12-foot ceiling heights to 10-foot ceilings in a commercial real property purchase agreement. The Fourth District reversed
• First Ala. Bank OF Montgomery, N.A. v. First State Ins. Co., Inc.
  899 F.2d 1045· 11th Cir.· 1990-04-27 ·cited 33×
  The court held that First Alabama's fraud claim was not barred by the statute of limitations and affirmed the district court's finding of fraud, but remanded for recalculation of prejudgment interest.
• Holland v. United States
  384 F.2d 370· 5th Cir.· 1967-10-24 ·cited 32×
  The court held that imposing concurrent sentences for simultaneous violations of different provisions of the Federal Bank Robbery Act is improper.
• Whitehurst v. Camp
  699 So. 2d 679· Fla.· 1997-09-04 ·cited 30×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that unless a contract explicitly provides that its interest rate applies to judgments, the contractual interest rate terminates when a judgment is entered and the postjudgment interest rate is determined by statute. The Court approved the First Dis
• Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. Bufco Corp. & Corbett Elec. Co.
  899 F.2d 608· 7th Cir.· 1990-04-04 ·cited 30×
  The court held that the Board's new Deklewa rule is a reasonable construction of the Act and that its retroactive application to the respondent Company does not cause manifest injustice.
• Hensel v. Aurilio
  417 So. 2d 1035· Fla. 4th DCA· 1982-07-14 ·cited 30×
  Hensel appeals a mandatory injunction requiring removal of building encroachments on an easement claimed by Aurilio. The court reverses, holding that Aurilio's easement was not legally created and that even if valid, Aurilio is barred from enforcing it through equitable doctrines
• Opler v. Wynne
  402 So. 2d 1309· Fla. 3d DCA· 1981-08-18 ·cited 29×
  The court held that the seller's express warranty of ingress and egress in the land sale contract did not merge into the deed, and thus the buyer could sue for damages even though the deed did not grant an easement.
• Augustus Hilton and W. D. Bush v. N. Cent. Tr. Co.
  114 Fla. 796· Fla.· 1933-12-20 ·cited 28×
  In this mortgage foreclosure case, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed a decree granting Northern Central Trust Company a first lien against mortgaged premises, rejecting the original mortgagors' argument that the underlying debt had been discharged when subsequent property owners
• Lewis v. State
  34 So. 3d 183· Fla. 1st DCA· 2010-05-06 ·cited 26×
  Amanda Lewis was convicted of aggravated child abuse and first-degree felony murder in her seven-year-old daughter's drowning death. She appealed arguing the merger doctrine precluded using aggravated child abuse as the underlying felony for felony murder when a single act caused
• Milo Allett & Allstate Ins. Co. v. Hill
  422 So. 2d 1047· Fla. 4th DCA· 1982-12-01 ·cited 26×
  In this slip-and-fall case, the jury awarded substantial damages to plaintiffs against a landlord defendant. The appellate court reversed and remanded for retrial due to multiple compounding errors: allowing a last-minute amendment to add a breach of contract claim, admitting par
• Fla. Pottery Stores OF Panama City, Inc. v. Am. Nat'l Bank
  578 So. 2d 801· Fla. 1st DCA· 1991-04-23 ·cited 23×
  Florida Pottery Stores and its guarantors appealed a summary judgment dismissing their counterclaim against American National Bank for breach of an alleged oral agreement to secure loan participation, and challenged an award of post-judgment attorney's fees. The court reversed, f
• Kregos v. The Associated Press & Sports Features Syndicate, Inc.
  937 F.2d 700· 2d Cir.· 1991-06-11 ·cited 22×
  The court held that the plaintiff's pitching form was uncopyrightable because the idea of selecting and presenting specific baseball statistics to predict game outcomes had merged with its expression, meaning there were no alternative ways to express the idea.
• Golden v. Davey L. Woodward, Jr.
  15 So. 3d 664· Fla. 1st DCA· 2009-06-24 ·cited 21×
  Appellants purchased real property from Woodward under a written agreement requiring monthly payments and a balloon payment, but later mortgaged the property and stopped payments after Woodward's death. The court imposed an equitable/vendor's lien against the property to secure t
• Uwanawich v. Gaudini
  334 So. 2d 116· Fla. 3d DCA· 1976-04-27 ·cited 21×
  The court held that the trial judge did not err in allowing acceleration of the mortgage debt, denying reformation of the default clause, or awarding attorney's fees.
• State v. Burkett
  344 So. 2d 868· Fla. 2d DCA· 1977-03-16 ·cited 20×
  The State appealed the dismissal of an information charging defendants with conspiracy to tamper with a witness. The court reversed, holding that the information was sufficiently clear and not vague under Florida criminal procedure rules, as it alleged the charge in statutory lan
• Petit Paul Dorestin and Jeannette K. Dorestin v. Hollywood Imports, Inc.
  45 So. 3d 819· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-08-11 ·cited 19×
  The Dorestins purchased a vehicle from Maroone Honda after participating in fraud by falsifying employment information on a credit application. A jury found Maroone liable for fraudulent inducement and FDUTPA violations, but the trial court entered judgment notwithstanding the ve
• Joleen Chrestensen v. Eurogest, Inc.
  906 So. 2d 343· Fla. 4th DCA· 2005-07-13 ·cited 18×
  The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a dismissal of a deficiency judgment action, holding that the statute of limitations for deficiency judgments begins to run from the date of the foreclosure judgment and sale, not from the date of the underlying mortgage default. This
• Mapps v. State
  520 So. 2d 92· Fla. 4th DCA· 1988-02-17 ·cited 17×
  James Mapps was convicted of first-degree felony murder based on an underlying charge of aggravated child abuse resulting in the death of a ten-month-old child. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, rejecting the defendant's argument that the felony murder statute does not
• Lowell Thompson v. United States
  308 F.2d 628· 9th Cir.· 1962-09-25 ·cited 17×
  The court held that lands acquired by the United States for specific national forest purposes are not subject to mineral location under general mining laws, and affirmed the lower court's judgment regarding trespass and damages.
• Horn v. City of Miami Beach
  142 Fla. 178· Fla.· 1940-03-01 ·cited 17×
  In this tax deed dispute, the Florida Supreme Court addressed whether a motion to strike an answer and counterclaim was properly granted in a case involving competing claims to real estate—one based on a Master's sale of municipal tax deeds and the other based on state and county
• United States v. State OF Colo.
  872 F.2d 338· 10th Cir.· 1989-04-07 ·cited 16×
  The State's purchase of property at a tax sale, even without notice to the federal government, did not extinguish its senior tax lien through merger, thus preserving its priority over the federal tax lien.
• Fin. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n of Dade Cnty. v. Cont'l Enters., Inc.
  338 So. 2d 907· Fla. 3d DCA· 1976-11-02 ·cited 16×
  Financial Federal Savings and Loan Association appealed a judgment requiring it to pay damages after refusing to disburse loan funds due to an increase in interest rates. The court affirmed the trial court's finding that Financial Federal breached a binding loan agreement but rev
• W.G. Lassiter, Jr. v. Kaufman
  581 So. 2d 147· Fla.· 1991-05-30 ·cited 15×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that when determining the fair market value of property subject to a lessee's option to purchase, the trial court may consider the present value of the fee unencumbered by the lease if the option clause unambiguously refers to the fee title. The cou
• Thornton v. J Jargon Co.
  580 F. Supp. 2d 1261· M.D. Fla.· 2008-07-08 ·cited 14×
  Disputed issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on the copyright infringement claim, but the court grants summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff's claim for actual damages.
• C.E.K. Indus. Mech. Contractors, Inc. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.
  921 F.2d 350· 1st Cir.· 1990-12-17 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the Deklewa rule regarding repudiation of prehire agreements should not be applied retroactively to the Companies, as doing so would result in manifest injustice and disappoint reasonable private expectations under pre-Deklewa law.
• Colo. Prop. Acquisitions, Inc. v. United States
  894 F.2d 1173· 10th Cir.· 1990-01-24 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the statutory method of delivery for a notice of nonjudicial foreclosure to the IRS (registered or certified mail or personal service) is mandatory, and failure to comply renders the notice invalid.
• United States v. Bear
  883 F.2d 1382· 8th Cir.· 1989-08-17 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the jury instructions regarding the merger of assault and homicide charges, the limitations on cross-examination of a witness, and prosecutorial arguments during closing did not constitute plain error. The court also rejected various other claims of error.
• Lindsey v. State
  416 So. 2d 471· Fla. 4th DCA· 1982-06-02 ·cited 14×
  The court concurred in the affirmance, finding that false imprisonment is not a lesser included offense and thus subject to separate sentencing under Section 775.021(4), Florida Statutes, despite potential merger.
• Burkart v. City OF Fort Lauderdale
  168 So. 2d 65· Fla.· 1964-10-07 ·cited 14×
  The Florida Supreme Court reversed the lower courts' decisions that granted exclusive riparian rights to the City of Fort Lauderdale regarding accretions to a public street, holding that expressly reserved riparian rights in a plat dedication do not pass to the public as an incid
• Wilkes v. State
  123 So. 3d 632· Fla. 4th DCA· 2013-09-11 ·cited 13×
  The court held that dual convictions for attempted second degree murder and attempted felony murder violate double jeopardy principles, and that attempted burglary of a structure does not qualify for a Prison Releasee Reoffender enhanced sentence. The court reversed the attempted
• Whitehurst v. Camp
  677 So. 2d 1361· Fla. 1st DCA· 1996-08-14 ·cited 13×
  The court held that a contract's interest rate for the debt does not automatically apply to post-judgment interest unless expressly stated in the contract.
• Sciandra v. First Union Nat'l Bank of Fla.
  638 So. 2d 1009· Fla. 2d DCA· 1994-06-15 ·cited 12×
• United States v. Sappe
  898 F.2d 878· 2d Cir.· 1990-03-15 ·cited 12×
  The court held that separate convictions for bank robbery and armed bank robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 2113 merge, and the conviction for the lesser offense must be vacated. The court also held that the district court failed to follow proper procedure for an upward departure from the
• Grimes v. Leon Cnty. Sch. Bd. & Royal Indem. Co.
  518 So. 2d 327· Fla. 1st DCA· 1987-12-15 ·cited 12×
  Thelma Grimes, a polio survivor who wore a leg brace, fell and fractured her ankle at work when her brace gave way while retrieving a file. The deputy commissioner denied her workers' compensation claim because the injury did not arise out of employment. The court reversed and re