Alamagan Corp. v. Daniels Group, Inc.

809 So. 2d 22, 2002 WL 113834
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJanuary 30, 2002
Docket3D00-2317, 3D00-2331
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 809 So. 2d 22 (Alamagan Corp. v. Daniels Group, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alamagan Corp. v. Daniels Group, Inc., 809 So. 2d 22, 2002 WL 113834 (Fla. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

809 So.2d 22 (2002)

ALAMAGAN CORPORATION, a Florida corporation and LaSalle Ventures One, Ltd., a Florida Limited Partnership, Appellants,
v.
The DANIELS GROUP, INC., a Florida corporation and Rona Daniels, an individual, Appellees.

Nos. 3D00-2317, 3D00-2331.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

January 30, 2002.

*23 Rodriguez & Machado, P.A., and Albert J. Xiques, and Hilda Piloto, Miami, for appellants.

Sweetapple, Broeker & Varkas, and Paul B. Feltman, Miami, for appellees.

Before COPE, GERSTEN, and GREEN, JJ.

GREEN, J.

Appellants Alamagan Corporation ("Alamagan") and LaSalle Ventures One, Ltd. ("LaSalle"), appeal from two separate orders, in two separate cases regarding one piece of property. The first order was the granting of appellees' motion to extend a lis pendens on the property for one year, and the second was from an order denying the appellants' motion to dissolve that same lis pendens. Based on our review of the record and the unique set of facts in this case, we affirm.

Alamagan owned a parcel of real property commonly referred to as 1200 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida. Rona Daniels[1], a real estate broker, introduced various parties to the property through Edie Laquer of Tecton Realty Group, Inc. ("Tecton"). In 1997, Alamagan signed a contract to sell the property to Vestec Brickell Corp. ("Vestec").

Shortly thereafter, Bridges Properties, Inc. ("Bridges")[2], sued Vestec and its President in Miami Dade County Circuit Court seeking an award of the purchaser's rights of the sale contract of the property. LaSalle intervened in the case, seeking a determination that it—to the exclusion of Bridges and Vestec—was entitled to purchase the property under the contract. The brokers, Daniels and Tecton also intervened claiming a right to a real estate commission on the sale of the property.

The complaint alleged that in March 1997, Alamagan had granted Laerte de Pontes, Bridges' President, an option to purchase the property at 1200 South Miami Avenue for $4,200,000. Thereafter, de Pontes, and the directors of Bridges worked on the development of a Brazilianstyle mixed use/residential building with approximately 2.25 acres of the land to be located at 1200 South Miami Avenue. Beginning in or around July 1997, the relationship between de Pontes and Rafael Diaz Balart, Bridges Vice President, became strained. Subsequently, Diaz Balart resigned as an officer and director of Bridges. On the following day, Diaz Balart formed and incorporated Vestec. On that same day, Diaz Balart, as President of Vestec, executed the July 30th contract for the purchase of the property. Alamagan was not informed and was unaware that Diaz Balart had resigned from Bridges, and was acting on behalf of Vestec. La-Salle, in its claim for intervention alleged that at all times relevant to this transaction, de Pontes was acting on behalf of LaSalle, and that de Pontes had attempted to usurp LaSalle's rights by incorporating Bridges, to acquire the contract.

As a result, the matter was litigated and ultimately heard by a special master. The *24 parties stipulated that the transcript of the proceedings would serve as the pleadings of the intervenors, and that the special master's report and recommendations were binding. The report found that La-Salle was entitled to purchase the real property, and that the brokers (Daniels and Tecton) were "entitled to a 6% commission from the buyer under the contract for sale in issue." Moreover, and pivotal to the issue before us here, the special master clearly stated that the final judgment in this case would operate as a lien against the property.[3]

LaSalle's President, Gaubriel Mairone, executed and assumed all of the obligations under the sales contract, including the brokerage fees. The sales contract was subsequently amended three times, each time the sales price increased until the final amended contract provided that:

[a]t Buyer's option, Buyer may purchase Seller's stock of the parent corporation owning 100% of the Stock of Seller ...

Thus, at the closing on June 17, 1999, LaSalle acquired the stock of Alamagan's parent corporation, Nutone. Thereafter, Mairone assumed the position of Alamagan's President.

Following the entry of the final judgment, Daniels sent several letters attempting to obtain information about when the closing would occur. No response was ever received. Daniels subsequently filed a motion with the court seeking to enforce the terms of the final judgment. In conjunction with the motion, Daniels also filed a Notice of Lis Pendens[4] which referred to and attached the final judgment. Appellants filed a motion to set the lis pendens aside, but never set the motion for hearing. Daniels also filed a notice of recording the final judgment. Three months after closing, and after Daniels had filed her motions, Tecton was paid its half of the real estate brokerage fees with no adjustment made for the increase of the sales price reflected in the amendments.

*25 Rather than pay Daniels her portion of the brokerage fee, Alamagan filed a complaint against Daniels with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation ("DBPR"). The complaint alleged that Daniels' lis pendens was illegally filed. Subsequently, Alamagan's President clarified its complaint in an letter to the DBPR stating:

I have received your letter dated September 21, 1999. I am sorry if I have been unclear. My complaint Does Not relate to a dispute about a real estate brokerage commission.
My complaint does relate to the illegal filing of a lis pendens against our land, in violation of Chapter 475.45(1)(j) of Florida Statute.

Daniels was forced to spend substantial sums of money in responding to the complaint. Following an administrative hearing, there was a finding of no probable cause, and the proceeding was dismissed in Daniels favor. No appeal was taken from that dismissal.

In January 2000, appellants filed a separate suit against Daniels alleging slander of title. At or about the same time, Daniels filed a motion, in the original case, seeking supplemental relief pursuant to Florida Statute 86.061,[5] and requested an order to show cause. An amended motion for supplemental relief was filed a year later.

The trial court granted Daniels motion for supplemental relief and also set the cause for calendar call. Three days before the calendar call, the appellants filed a motion to disqualify Daniels' counsel. That motion was denied and appellants sought certiorari review. In the interim, the trial court stayed the proceedings. This court denied appellants' petition for certiorari. LaSalle Ventures One, Ltd. etc. v. Rona Daniels, et al., 768 So.2d 459 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).

During the period of stay, Daniels filed a motion to extend the lis pendens for one year. The motion was set for hearing July 20, 2000. At the close of business on July 19, 2000, appellants filed an "emergency motion to dissolve lis pendens or in the alternative require a posting of a bond." This motion attempted to "piggy back" Daniels' motion for an extension of the lis pendens. On July 20, the trial court refused to hear appellants' untimely motion stating "you can't file something yesterday and have it heard today." Following the hearing, the court extended Daniels' lis pendens and required appellants to reset the motion requiring Daniels to post a bond for another date. Appellants have appealed the trial court's one year extension of the lis pendens.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
809 So. 2d 22, 2002 WL 113834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alamagan-corp-v-daniels-group-inc-fladistctapp-2002.