Shields v. Equine Capital Corp.

607 So. 2d 468, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 10434, 1992 WL 266983
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 9, 1992
Docket91-2809
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 607 So. 2d 468 (Shields v. Equine Capital Corp.) 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
Shields v. Equine Capital Corp., 607 So. 2d 468, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 10434, 1992 WL 266983 (Fla. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

607 So.2d 468 (1992)

J.V. SHIELDS, Appellant,
v.
EQUINE CAPITAL CORPORATION, Appellee.

No. 91-2809.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

October 9, 1992.

*469 John McKeever of Pattillo & McKeever, P.A., Ocala, for appellant.

Karl F. Hart of Hart, Fuller & Smith, P.A., Ocala, for appellee.

GRIFFIN, Judge.

This is the appeal of a summary final judgment entered in favor of appellee, Equine Capital Corporation ("ECC"). We reverse.

On June 13, 1990, appellant, J.V. Shields, Jr. ("Shields"), owner of a mare, Henrietta's Bid, and her foal, filed an action for declaratory relief against ECC seeking to establish his right to a stallion service certificate[1] in the possession of ECC. This certificate is necessary for Shields to obtain a Jockey Club registration certificate documenting the foal as a thoroughbred.

In early 1988, Shields' agent contacted Happy Valley Farm, the manager of a syndicated[2] stallion, Crafty Prospector, and *470 entered into an agreement to breed Henrietta's Bid to Crafty Prospector during the 1988 breeding season for a fee of $15,000, refundable if the mating did not produce a live foal. The foal conceived from that breeding was stillborn. In lieu of a refund, Shields contracted with Happy Valley Farm to rebreed his mare during the 1989 breeding season. On the line provided for "service fee" on this second stallion service contract appeared the phrase, "No charge in lieu of refund."

The problem in this case arose because Roger Kumar, the owner of the share used for the 1988 season (Share No. 23), was not the owner of the share used for the 1989 season (Share No. 40). The owner of Share No. 40 of the Crafty Prospector syndicate was Happy Valley Farm. Happy Valley Farm was a partnership consisting of Gary L. Wolfson and Stephen P. Wolfson.[3] These partners, along with Catherine Wolfson and Barbara Wolfson, had previously borrowed money from ECC and had signed, in return, certain promissory notes, security agreements and Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") 1 and 3 Financing Statements which ECC claims gave it a perfected security interest in Share No. 40, the breeding rights and any stallion service certificates that pertained to such secured breeding rights.

The Loan Agreement executed on February 21, 1989, which had restructured the Happy Valley Farm debt provided in part:

5. Affirmative Covenants:
A. The Debtor shall keep current reports on the following matters and shall submit monthly updates to ECC on the first day of each month beginning March 1, 1989:
i. Sales of any horses, seasons or shares
* * * * * *
iii. Stallion contracts signed

The Security Agreement ("Security Agreement") executed in connection with the Loan Agreement provided in part:

2. THE COLLATERAL: The Collateral in which a security interest is granted is as follows (all of which is referred to as "Collateral"):
(a) All now or hereafter owned stallion shares, breeding rights, fractional interests, and seasons, bonus seasons, and all other rights pertaining thereto owned by the Debtor or in which the Debtor may have an interest (as Lessee or otherwise) whether now existing or hereafter acquired; and wherever located. ("Share Collateral"). Share Collateral now owned is set forth on Exhibit A.[4]
(b) All now or hereafter owned horses, including without limitation, Thoroughbred horses, stallions, mares and all foals thereof (including without limitation, foals in utero at the time hereof or conceived or born thereafter); owned by the Debtor or in which the Debtor may have an interest (as Lessee or otherwise) whether now existing or or [sic] hereafter acquired; and wherever located (which, together with the equine proceeds and products constitute the "Horse Collateral"). Horse Collateral now owned is set forth in Exhibit B.
* * * * * *
(e) All certificates of title, certificates of registration and other evidences of ownership, relating to, or in any way *471 connected with, the Share Collateral or Horse Collateral, including without limitation, all Jockey Club registration papers, all stallion share certificates, all stallion service certificates, certificates of foal registration, and stallion syndication agreements.
* * * * * *
5. OBLIGATIONS OF DEBTOR: Debtor hereby agrees with Secured party that Debtor:
* * * * * *
(i) Except as provided in this Security Agreement, Will not dispose of any of the Collateral, including proceeds and products thereof, by sale or otherwise including without limitation, the transfer of any season to be used in foal sharing, the sale of a foal born to a horse or on a season, or the sale of a mare in foal which was bred on a season
* * * * * *
(n) Will pay to secured Party the proceeds (i.e., gross proceeds minus reasonable sales commissions due unrelated parties) from all sales of Collateral and said payment will be applied as set out in the Note.[5]

The record suggests that ECC demanded Happy Valley Farm deliver the Henrietta's Bid/Crafty Prospector stallion service certificate to ECC. In its answer and counterclaim, ECC admitted it had refused Shields' demand for the stallion service certificate, "until the stud fee for same has been paid",[6] based on its perfected security interest in Share No. 40 of the Crafty Prospector syndicate. Shields thereupon filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing no genuine issue of material fact existed and he was entitled to judgment on five grounds: (1) ECC had failed to plead a security agreement giving rise to a claim to Share No. 40; (2) ECC had assigned its rights to a third party; (3) a breeding right is "goods" under the UCC and Shields was either a purchaser in the ordinary course pursuant to section 679.307, Florida Statutes, or a purchaser of a "farm product" pursuant to the Food Security Act of 1985, 7 U.S.C. § 1631 (1990), and who thereby took free of any security interest; (4) Shields was an account debtor; (5) Happy Valley Farm was allowed under the loan and security agreements to transfer seasons, thereby transferring the security interest as provided in section 679.306(2), Florida Statutes.

Leverett S. Miller, who had arranged the breedings on behalf of Shields, stated in his supporting affidavit that Shields paid the 1988 service fee when due, although he does not say to whom, and that, after the 1988 breeding was unsuccessful, Shields suggested to Happy Valley Farm that it rebreed his mare in lieu of the refund. Miller further asserted that he never received notice of any rights of ECC in Crafty Prospector.

After the hearing on Shields' motion for summary judgment, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of ECC.[7] The court concluded that although Happy Valley Farm had the right to sell stallion seasons under the ECC security agreement, thereby transferring the security to the proceeds of the sale, ECC was, nevertheless, entitled to withhold the stallion service certificate because ECC also had a security interest in the stallion service certificate.

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Bluebook (online)
607 So. 2d 468, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 10434, 1992 WL 266983, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shields-v-equine-capital-corp-fladistctapp-1992.