Gelinas v. Forest River, Inc.

931 So. 2d 970, 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 8141, 2006 WL 1409118
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 24, 2006
Docket4D05-2656
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 931 So. 2d 970 (Gelinas v. Forest River, 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
Gelinas v. Forest River, Inc., 931 So. 2d 970, 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 8141, 2006 WL 1409118 (Fla. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

931 So.2d 970 (2006)

Joseph GELINAS, Appellant,
v.
FOREST RIVER, INC., Appellee.

No. 4D05-2656.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

May 24, 2006.
Rehearing Denied July 18, 2006.

*971 Patrick S. Cousins of Cousins Law Firm, P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellant.

John J. Glenn and Jeffrey L. Smith of AndersonGlenn, LLC, Ponte Vedra Beach, for appellee.

GUNTHER, J.

Joseph Gelinas appeals the entry of a final judgment awarding Forest River, Inc. *972 attorney's fees and costs. This award was entered based on a proposal for settlement following the trial court's granting of a summary judgment in favor of Forest River on Gelinas's claims for recovery under Florida Statutes section 681.112. We reverse.

Gelinas filed suit against Forest River under section 681.112 to recover pecuniary losses, litigation costs, and reasonable attorney's fees stemming from the purchase of a 1999 Forest River 2465 Georgetown Recreational Vehicle. The RV had previously been determined to be a "lemon" by the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, which awarded Gelinas a refund of $40,391.80 following an offset for his use of the RV.

Forest River filed a motion to dismiss Gelinas's complaint. Forest River claimed that section 681.112 did not permit Gelinas to bring a "subsequent legal action for recovery of attorney fees and costs incurred in the underlying arbitration." In a subsequent memorandum of law in support of the motion to dismiss, Forest River asserted that Gelinas was not entitled to recover pecuniary losses, litigation costs, or attorney's fees under section 681.112.

The trial court denied Forest River's motion to dismiss. The trial court concluded that Gelinas's lawsuit was authorized under section 681.112 and King v. King Motor Co. of Fort Lauderdale, 780 So.2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

Thereafter, Forest River filed a motion for summary judgment on all claims raised in Gelinas's complaint. Forest River asserted that Gelinas's complaint failed to state a cause of action under section 681.112 for several reasons prohibiting the recovery of attorney's fees and costs and pecuniary losses for the underlying arbitration.

Gelinas filed a memorandum of law in opposition to summary judgment. Gelinas asserted that the summary judgment motion was duplicative of the motion to dismiss that was rejected by the trial court, and that section 681.112 supported recovery of the damages sought by him.

The trial court entered an order granting Forest River's motion for summary judgment. The trial court concluded:

The Court finds that Chapter 681, Florida Statutes, does not authorize a trial court to award a plaintiff the attorney's fees he or she incurred during the arbitration of his or her claim before the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board. If the Florida Legislature intended for the recovery of such damages, it would have so provided in the statute.

Gelinas filed a motion for clarification of the trial court's order granting summary judgment. Gelinas requested clarification because he believed that the order granted a partial summary judgment as to the attorney's fees and costs claimed, without addressing the other damages sought by him. The trial court denied the motion for clarification.

Following nearly a year-and-a-half of continued prosecution, Gelinas filed a voluntary dismissal of his claims against Forest River. Thereafter, Forest River filed a motion for entry of final judgment based on the summary judgment. Forest River also filed a motion for attorney's fees and costs based on a proposal for settlement rejected by Gelinas. The proposal for settlement was in the amount of $5,000 and included an attached General Release and Confidentiality Agreement. Gelinas objected to Forest River's motion for attorney's fees and costs on the ground that it was moot following the voluntary dismissal.

*973 The trial court entered an Order Granting Defendant's Motion for Entitlement to Attorney's Fees and Costs. The trial court found that the case was resolved by summary judgment and voluntary dismissal and that Forest River was entitled to attorney's fees and costs based on the proposal for settlement. The trial court entered a final judgment in favor of Forest River and awarded it $15,360 in attorney's fees and costs.

First, we address Gelinas's second issue on appeal: whether the trial court erred by holding that the Lemon Law arbitration and refund barred recovery of attorney's fees and costs and other pecuniary losses in a separate action under section 681.112. The standard of review applicable to orders on summary judgment is de novo. See Sec. Nat'l Serv. Corp. v. Law Office of David J. Stern, P.A., 916 So.2d 934, 936 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). "Summary judgment is proper if there is no genuine issue of material fact and if the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So.2d 126, 130 (Fla.2000).

As a preliminary matter, we note that this issue was not waived by Gelinas's filing of a voluntary dismissal. This is the case because the voluntary dismissal was a nullity. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(a)(1) ("Except in actions in which property had been seized or is in the custody of the court, an action may be dismissed by plaintiff without order of court (A) before trial by serving, or during trial by stating on the record, a notice of dismissal at any time before a hearing on motion for summary judgment, or if none is served or if the motion is denied, before retirement of the jury in a case tried before a jury or before submission of a nonjury case to the court for decision."); Stonely v. Moore, 851 So.2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003) (notice of voluntary dismissal filed after summary judgment hearing was a nullity). In the case at bar, the summary judgment hearing took place and the motion for summary judgment was granted prior to Gelinas's filing of the voluntary dismissal. As a result, the voluntary dismissal was a nullity and this issue on appeal was not waived.

Additionally, this case does not involve a partial summary judgment. Forest River's motion for summary judgment was addressed to Gelinas's entire complaint. Furthermore, the summary judgment order granted the motion for summary judgment without qualification, so that the trial court clearly granted the motion addressing the full complaint in its entirety. Therefore, there is no jurisdictional bar to Gelinas's appeal.

With these preliminary matters resolved, we turn to the heart of the issue. Section 681.112 provides:

(1) A consumer may file an action to recover damages caused by a violation of this chapter. The court shall award a consumer who prevails in such action the amount of any pecuniary loss, litigation costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and appropriate equitable relief.
(2) An action brought under this chapter must be commenced within 1 year after the expiration of the Lemon Law rights period, or, if a consumer resorts to an informal dispute-settlement procedure or submits a dispute to the division or board, within 1 year after the final action of the procedure, division, or board.
(3) This chapter does not prohibit a consumer from pursuing other rights or remedies under any other law.

Gelinas contends that this statute contemplates suits for recovery outside of the arbitration process and not based on Lemon Law theories of recovery. Gelinas further asserts that this contention is supported

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

Related

REGIONS BANK vs AUSTIN & LAURATO, PA
District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2023
Forest River Inc. v. Gelinas
65 So. 3d 537 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2011)
General Motors LLC v. Bowie
58 So. 3d 934 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2011)
Case v. General Motors Corp.
19 So. 3d 1058 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2009)
General Motors Corp. v. Sanchez
16 So. 3d 883 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2009)
Saul Fox v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
279 F. App'x 748 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
931 So. 2d 970, 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 8141, 2006 WL 1409118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gelinas-v-forest-river-inc-fladistctapp-2006.