Builders Supply Co. v. Acton

56 Fla. 756
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 56 Fla. 756 (Builders Supply Co. v. Acton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Builders Supply Co. v. Acton, 56 Fla. 756 (Fla. 1908).

Opinion

Shackleford, C. J.

On the 16th day of April, 1908, the appellant filed its bill in chancery, in the Circuit Court for Dade County, against the appellees. A temporary injunction or restraining order was obtained from a Court Commissioner, without notice to the defendants, by the complainant against the defendants restraining the further prosecution of a certain action which had been instituted in the County Judge’s court for Dade County by J. W. Acton, manager of the Delray Canning Company, against the complainant, “seeking to remove the complainant, the Builders’ Supply Company, from a certain building,” which is described, and further restraining all the 'defendants “from molesting the complainant in any manner, by legal proceedings or otherwise, in the peaceful and quiet possession of the premises in question until the hearing of the cause or the further order of the court,” The defendants, J. W. Acton and J. W. Acton, manager of the Delray Canning Company, filed a motion to dissolve such temporary injunction upon various grounds, two of which were to the effect that, the bill was wanting in equity and that it showed upon its face the complainant had a full and complete remedy at law. After a hearing of the cause upon such motion and argument by the respective counsel, the Circuit Judge made an order dissolving the temporary injunction. From this interlocutory order the complainant entered an appeal to this court, and the sole point presented to us for determination is whether or not the court erred in making such order.

As to the principles of law governing the granting of temporary injunctions or restraining orders, especially where no notice has been given to the defendants of the time and place of the application therefor, see Godwin v Phifer, 51 Fla. 441, 41 South. Rep. 597, and author[759]*759ities therein cited. Also see Hall v. Horne, 52 Fla. 510, 42 South. Rep. 383; Simms v. Patterson, 53 Fla. 984, 43 South. Rep. 421; Savage v. Parker, 53 Fla. 1002, 43 South. Rep. 507; Weeks v. J. C. Turner Lumber Co., 53 Fla. 793, 44 South. Rep. 173; Baker v. McKinney, 54 Fla. 495, 44 South. Rep. 944; Shaw v. Palmer, 54 Fla. 490, 44 South. Rep. 953. As was "held in these cases, if it is plainly apparent that the bill is without equity, an injunction should not be granted in the first instance, but, if granted, should be dissolved at the earliest opportunity by the court. As is also held therein, both the granting and continuing of injunctions rest largely within the sound judicial discretion of the court, to be governed largely by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. Where a temporary injunction has been dissolved by the court, after argument by the respective counsel, and an appeal is taken from such interlocutory order to this court, it is incumbent upon the complainant to make it clearly appear that there has been an abuse of this discretion. This is in line with the principle so often decided by this court that it is the duty of a party resorting to an appellate court to make the errors-complained of clearly to appear, every presumption being in favor of the correctness of the rulings of the trial, court. Ropes v. Stewart, 54 Fla. 185, 45 South. Rep. 31, and authorities there cited.

Turning to the bill, we find that the allegations therein which form the basis' for the' relief sought, in brief, are that, upon the first day of March, 1907, a verbal lease was entered into between J. W. Acton, manager of the D.elray Canning Company, and the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company, whereby the said Acton leased to the Painter Fertilizer Company the premises in question, that in taking such lease the Painter Fertilizer Company was acting for and on behalf of complainant, which [760]*760fact was known at the time to said Acton; that the Painter Fertilizer Company entered into possession of the premises and forthwith delivered the same to complainant at an agreed rental of $50.00 per month; that complainant had faithfully complied with all of its agreements and had paid the monthly rental up to the first of March, 1908; that complainant was informed and believed, on or about the first day of August, 1907, the said Acton and Painter Fertilizer Company entered into a written lease for such premises, but complainant was not- a party thereto and was not at that time advised of such lease or that any change was made or contemplated in the existing arrangement; that during the month of August, 1907, it was notified by the Painter Fertilizer Company that a written lease had been secured for one year, “but that nothing was said to indicate that any change was made or contemplated in the existing arrangement- other than that the complainant was thereby led to believe that the written lease held by the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company would run for one year from the month of August, 1907. And thereafter the complainant and the defendant E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company ■entered into an agreement to endure for one year, whereby the complainant undertook to store certain fertilizers and fertilizing materials- — the property of the said E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company — in its said packing house, in consideration whereof the said E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company agreed to pay one-fourth of the rental of the said packing house, to-wit: the sum of twelve and 50-100 dollars per month toward the satisfaction of the said rental.” That complainant, relying upon the agreement so made with the Painter Fertilizer Company and believing “that it was safe in its tenure of said premises up to the first day of August, tqo8,” purchased and agreed to purchase large quantities of [761]*761crate material for packing fruit and vegetables, and made and entered into agreements with sundry persons whereby it bound itself to furnish crates, crate material and fertilizer to them at various times during the months of May, June and July, 1908, and incurred liabilities and obligations to the amount of $20,000, and that the continued use and possession of the premises is necessary in order to enable it to fulfill the same. That on or about the 2nd day of February, 1908, complainant received a letter from the Painter Fertilizer Company stating that J. W. Acton had served notice on it to quit and deliver possession of the premises on or before midnight of the 29th of February,' 1908, a copy of which notice was enclosed; that, notwithstanding the representations and remonstrances of complainant, the Painter Fertilizer Company refused to take proper steps to protect complainant, but itself on the 6th day of March, 1908, served notice on complainant to vacate on or before the 23rd day of March, 1908, and also caused proceedings to be instituted in the County Judge’s court for the removal of complainant from the premises, which complainant succeeded in quashing, and thereafter the Painter Fertilizer Company had another notice served upon complainant to deliver possession by the 30th day of April, 1908, and the said Acton instituted proceedings in-' the County Judge’s court to remove complainant as well as the Painter Fertilizer Company from the premises, which case was set for trial on the 16th day of April, 1908. The bill charges fraud and collusion between the defendants and alleges that if the case .should come to trial on the 16th day of April, 1908, it would have no means of procuring the testimony of E. O. Painter, who was not in Dade county, and, without his testimony, could not prove its defense. The bill seeks discovery from both Painter and Acton, requiring them to specifi[762]*762cally set forth certain information alleged to be peculiarly within their respective knowledge, but the oath to their answers was expressly waived.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Horvath v. Five Points National Bank of Miami
182 So. 2d 22 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1966)
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company v. Harb
170 So. 2d 54 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1964)
Central Theatres, Inc. v. State ex rel. Braren
161 So. 2d 558 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1964)
Metropolitan Dade County v. Polk Pools, Inc.
124 So. 2d 737 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1960)
Daoud v. City of Miami Beach
199 So. 582 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1941)
Roberts v. Peacock
193 So. 548 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1940)
Hyland v. Rodney
195 So. 574 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1939)
Wells v. Cochrane
188 So. 87 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1939)
Christensen v. Commercial Fishermen's Asso.
187 So. 699 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1939)
Dixie Music Co., Inc. v. Pike
185 So. 441 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1938)
City of West Palm Beach v. Eppelman
181 So. 894 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1938)
First Nat. Bank of Gainesville v. Massey
182 So. 187 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1937)
B. L. E. Realty Corp. v. Mary Williams Co. Inc.
134 So. 47 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1931)
Seaboard Oil Co. v. Donovan
128 So. 821 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1930)
Willis v. Hathaway
117 So. 89 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1928)
Gillis v. State Live Stock Sanitary Board
114 So. 509 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1927)
Catts v. Tampa & Jacksonville Railway Co.
79 So. 168 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1918)
Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railway Co. v. Lancaster
70 Fla. 200 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1915)
Ogden v. Baile
68 So. 671 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1915)
Gillespie v. Chapline
59 Fla. 500 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1910)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 Fla. 756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/builders-supply-co-v-acton-fla-1908.