Pollock v. Kelly

125 So. 2d 109
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 6, 1960
DocketC-48
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 125 So. 2d 109 (Pollock v. Kelly) 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
Pollock v. Kelly, 125 So. 2d 109 (Fla. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

125 So.2d 109 (1960)

Herman POLLOCK, Appellant,
v.
Francis J. KELLY, as sole heir and beneficiary of the Estate of Katherine A. Kelly, deceased, Appellee.

No. C-48.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. First District.

December 6, 1960.

*110 Duffett & Stainer, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Walter A. Shelley, Daytona Beach, for appellee.

WIGGINTON, Chief Judge.

Appellee, as sole heir and beneficiary of the Estate of Katherine A. Kelly, deceased, brought suit on a promissory note given by appellant to appellee's decedent prior to her death. From a summary final judgment in favor of appellee this appeal is taken. It is contended that the pleadings, affidavits and exhibits on file before the court present a genuine issue of a material fact which should properly be resolved only by a jury on a trial of the cause. Reversal of the summary final judgment is sought.

Appellee's complaint is in the usual form alleging that the promissory note, a copy of which is annexed as plaintiff's exhibit, was executed by defendant and delivered to Katherine A. Kelly prior to her death whereby defendant promised to pay to the decedent on the date stipulated in the note the sum of $2,500, together with interest. It is further alleged that defendant owes plaintiff the entire amount of the note with interest from its due date, together with attorney's fees, for which judgment is prayed.

By his answer defendant admits the execution and delivery of the note in question, but denied that he was indebted thereon either to the decedent at the time of her death, or is now indebted to the plaintiff in the cause. As additional defenses defendant alleges payment, accord and satisfaction and release.

In support of her motion for summary judgment plaintiff filed her affidavit which merely reiterates the allegations of her complaint, and also filed affidavits of various attorneys testifying as to what is a reasonable fee to be paid plaintiff's attorney for his services.

In opposition to the motion defendant filed separate affidavits executed by him and his wife. The affidavit executed by defendant's wife averred that although she was the wife of defendant, she was not a party to the cause nor interested in the event thereof. This affidavit acknowledged the execution and delivery of the promissory note by defendant to the decedent, but averred that the affiant wife was not now nor ever had been obligated or indebted to either the decedent or the plaintiff in the cause. It is further averred that the affiant, at the request and solely for the benefit of defendant, paid certain sums of money to the decedent during her lifetime to be applied on the indebtedness evidenced *111 by the note sued upon; that such payments consisted of checks in the total sum of $1,800 issued by the affiant payable to the decedent which were endorsed and cashed by her, which canceled checks are attached to the affidavit and made a part thereof by reference. It is further averred that affiant paid to the decedent in cash on certain stated dates various sums totaling $500, some of which payments were receipted for by the decedent and which receipt is attached to the affidavit and made a part thereof. It is further averred that defendant paid to the decedent in cash certain sums of money during the years 1956 and 1957 as reflected by the notations in defendant's books of original entry regularly kept and maintained in connection with his business. It is finally averred that in addition to the foregoing the affiant rendered to decedent certain services, and furnished her lodging and traveling expenses, the value of which were applied on the indebtedness now sued upon. Affiant concludes her affidavit with the averment that during her lifetime the decedent stated to affiant that she had been paid in full on account of the indebtedness evidenced by the note, and that the note had been fully paid and satisfied. Defendant also filed an additional affidavit in his own behalf in which he averred that the indebtedness evidenced by the promissory note had been paid and satisfied in full, some of which payments were made to the decedent by the defendant in cash during the years 1956 and 1957 as reflected by defendant's books of original entry regularly kept and maintained by him in connection with his business, a schedule of which payments, including the dates and amounts thereof, being attached to defendant's affidavit and made a part thereof by reference.

Upon consideration of the foregoing proofs submitted by defendant the trial judge entered a summary final judgment in which he found that there was no genuine issue of any material fact and that plaintiff was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The court accepted the proofs of payment submitted by defendant to the extent of $1800 as evidenced by the canceled checks attached to the affidavit filed by defendant's wife, but further found that there remained unpaid of the indebtedness evidenced by the note the principal sum of $700. Judgment was therefore awarded plaintiff for the balance of the principal found to be due, together with interest and attorney's fees, in the total sum of $1,276.61.

The rule of civil procedure under which the summary judgment in this case was entered provides that such judgment or decree may be rendered by the court if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment or decree as a matter of law.[1] Proceedings for a summary judgment or decree may never be used as a substitute for a trial if from the evidence before the court there appears to be a genuine issue of some material fact which must be established in order for either party to prevail.[2] Even though the material facts are uncontroverted a summary judgment may not be proper if the evidence is lawfully susceptible to two or more conflicting inferences.[3]

The question here presented is whether the pleadings, depositions, affidavits and other evidence on file before the court raised a genuine issue of a material fact with respect to the issues formed by the pleadings filed in the cause.

The affidavit filed by plaintiff in support of her motion for summary judgment averred the execution and delivery of the note sued upon and specifically asserted that the entire principal amount of the note was due and unpaid, together with interest thereon from the date of execution. The *112 affidavits filed by appellant and his wife admitted the execution and delivery of the note, but specifically stated that the entire principal sum thereof, together with all accrued interest, had been paid in full and appellant-maker had been released from any further obligations with respect to the note and the indebtedness evidenced thereby. In support of these averments the affidavit filed by appellant's wife referred to certain attached canceled checks issued by her and payable to decedent during her lifetime in the total sum of $1,800. Each of these canceled checks bore a signature purporting to be that of the decedent. The trial judge accepted this proof as evidence of payment in the total amount of the canceled checks attached to the affidavit even though there does not appear in the record any admission by plaintiff that the sums of money evidenced by such canceled checks had been received by the decedent, or that the endorsements appearing on the reverse side of the checks were in fact the decedent's signature.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
125 So. 2d 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pollock-v-kelly-fladistctapp-1960.