John K. Brennan Co. v. Central Bank & Trust Co.

164 So. 2d 525, 1964 Fla. App. LEXIS 4285
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 13, 1964
Docket4273
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 164 So. 2d 525 (John K. Brennan Co. v. Central Bank & Trust Co.) 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
John K. Brennan Co. v. Central Bank & Trust Co., 164 So. 2d 525, 1964 Fla. App. LEXIS 4285 (Fla. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

164 So.2d 525 (1964)

JOHN K. BRENNAN COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant,
v.
CENTRAL BANK & TRUST COMPANY, a corporation, et al., Appellees.

No. 4273.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. Second District.

May 13, 1964.
Rehearing Denied June 11, 1964.

*526 P.J. Brannen, Jr., Boca Raton, for appellant.

Victor Vallecorsa, Boca Raton, for appellees.

BARNS, PAUL D., Associate Judge.

The real parties in interest in this suit appear to be HOWARD T. KEATING SALES COMPANY, a corporation, the vendor, and JOHN K. BRENNAN COMPANY, a corporation, the vendee. Hereafter they will be referred to as "KEATING" and "BRENNAN." The vendor-Keating's complaint seeks specific performance of an option to repurchase against Brennan, the vendee defendant. The complaint claims damages of $31,000.00 in event specific performance is not granted.

To the complaint, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss and a motion for a summary final decree. The lower court denied both motions and, on its own initiative, rendered an interlocutory summary decree against the defendant and in favor of the non-moving plaintiff "on the issue of liability." The defendant had not answered and it was not in default. From this decree, the defendant appeals. We find error and reverse.

The appellee's complaint alleges that pursuant to its acceptance of an offer to buy, the plaintiff-appellee Keating, for a consideration of $45,000.00, conveyed certain real estate to Brennan; the offer by Brennan, which was accepted by Keating, contained certain mutual rights and executory obligations between the vendor and the vendee to be performed or exercised after the closing of the sale; and $10,000.00 of the purchase price was placed in escrow.

The Keating complaint states that as part of the consideration Brennan covenanted and agreed to use the island area of the property for a private club; that construction of the club facilities was to commence not later than thirty (30) days after completion of certain work by the plaintiff as set forth in the offer and acceptance "agreement"; that "Completion of said work was to be certified by Brockway, Weber and Brockway, Engineers Incorporated"; and that if Brennan failed to commence construction of the club within said thirty (30) days period, then Keating would, for thirty (30) days thereafter, have the right to purchase the island area for $5,000.00.

The complaint further alleges that Brennan was notified by Keating of the completion of the work by letter dated November 30, 1962, enclosing a certificate of completion *527 by the engineers, and of their intention to exercise their rights to purchase in event Brennan failed to commence construction of the club within the next thirty (30) days; that construction of the club was not so commenced and that Keating notified Brennan within the ensuing thirty (30) days of its election to repurchase; and, that Brennan has failed to reconvey as per terms of the agreement.

The affidavit in support of defendant-Brennan's motion for a summary final decree, after reciting the terms of the agreement relating to the completion, notice from the engineers, and terms relating to club house construction and repurchase, states that the completion of the work, as certified by the engineer's letter on September 18, 1962, to Keating, was actually completed early in September and all the parties had actual knowledge of the completion as certified by the engineer's letter and that the thirty (30) days for commencement of the club house started on September 18, 1962, causing the option to repurchase to expire, November 17, 1962, before it was exercised.

It is not shown that Brennan received a copy of the engineer's letter before the written notice from Keating to Brennan dated November 30, 1962, notifying Brennan of the completion of the work and calling on Brennan to commence construction of the club house facilities and of its intention to exercise its right to repurchase in event of Brennan's default, which lends support to the position that the thirty (30) days commenced to run from November 30, 1962, and not September 18, 1962. The engineer's certificate is not clearly unequivocal.

Considering the foregoing recitations, the lower court did not err in denying appellant's motion for a summary judgment. In passing on a motion for summary judgment it is no part of the court's function to decide issues of fact but solely to determine whether there is a genuine issue of a material fact. All doubts as to the existence of a material fact must be resolved against the party moving for a summary judgment or decree. A motion for summary judgment raises only a question of law and if there is any question or doubt of a material fact shown, the motion should not be granted. Meadows v. Edwards, 82 So.2d 733. To entitle a movant to a summary final decree, he must affirmatively show the absence of a genuine issue of any material fact and that he is entitled to a summary decree in his favor under the applicable substantive law; the movant-appellant failed to meet this two-fold test.

In denying appellant's motion for a summary decree, the lower court found that there was a showing that the thirty (30) day period for commencement of construction of the club house by the defendant-appellant Brennan started to run upon receipt of the letter from Keating enclosing the engineer's certificate of completion and on such basis, the court, on its own initiative:

Ordered and decreed that the plaintiffs be, and they are hereby granted a Summary decree in their favor as against the defendant John K. Brennan Company, a Florida Corporation, on the issue of liability of said company.

The foregoing order decreeing liability of the defendant was before answer by the defendant and in the absence of a ten-day notice by Keating of hearing of a motion for summary decree as prescribed by Rule 1.36(c), Rules of Civil Procedure, 30 F.S.A. It was in favor of a non-moving party and against the moving party.

In support of the lower court's interlocutory decree as to liability, the appellee contends that since appellant initially made its motion for summary decree in the lower court without filing an answer, (1) it cannot on appeal take the position that there were any genuine issues at to a material fact to be decided by the lower *528 court; i.e., that such motion conceded the absence of genuine issue as to any material fact; and (2) that the lower court was justified in entering the decree against the moving defendant upon the authority of Carpienta v. Shields, 1954, 70 So.2d 573, 48 A.L.R.2d 1185.

A party making a motion for a summary judgment or decree concedes that there is no genuine issue as to a material fact, but such concession is only for the purposes of the motion, and such concession does not carry over to be used against the movant to the benefit or advantage of his adversary. Rule 1.36, Rules of Civil Procedure, is an adoption of Rule 56, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Relative to the federal rule 6 Moore's Federal Procedure, 2nd ed., Sec. 56.13, p. 2094, states:

"(3). Concessions which a party may make for the purpose of his motion do not carry over and support the cross-motion of his adversary. This doctrine has been ably set forth by Judge Miller of the Sixth Circuit in Begnaud v. White [170 F.2d 323

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Bluebook (online)
164 So. 2d 525, 1964 Fla. App. LEXIS 4285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-k-brennan-co-v-central-bank-trust-co-fladistctapp-1964.