In Mauna Loa Investments v. Anamaria Santiago, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D658a (Fla 3DCA 2013), the Florida Third District Court of Appeal held that a default judgment should not be entered against a party when the Complaint itself failed to state a cause of action. This Florida personal injury case involved a slip and fall injury by a pedestrian on a walkway surface. The Defendant and alleged owner of the property failed to file a timely response to the Complaint. As a result, the trial court entered a default final judgment against the defendant.
Motion to Set Aside Default Final Judgment
Upon learning of the default final judgment, the defendant requested that the final judgment be set aside on the grounds that it was not the proper party since it did not own the property on the date of the injury. Pursuant to Florida law, a party may seek to have an order or judgment set aside on the basis of mistake, surprise, excusable neglect, misrepresentation, fraud or the fact that the order or judgment is void as a matter of law. In this instance, the Defendant relied upon a special warranty deed to show the Court that the property was transferred to it three months after the date of the injury. Notwithstanding the deed, the trial court denied the motion to set aside the default final judgment.
Default is Void Where Complaint Fails to State Cause of Action
In reversing the trial court, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal relied upon the well settled proposition that a default final judgment may not be entered against a defendant on a complaint that wholly fails to state a cause of action. Applied to this case, the deed established that the defendant did not own the property at the time of the entry and therefore the complaint could not state a cause of action against the defendant. Accordingly, since the complaint failed to state a cause of action, both the default and default final judgment were void.
Lessons Learned
In civil litigation cases, it is essential for the claimant to not only name the proper parties but to state all the required elements for a valid cause of action. In doing so, the Florida litigant and plaintiff must research and prove the connection of the named defendant to the case and thereafter state simple facts to link the defendant to the claim being made against it. Failing to do this could mean that you lose your case even when unopposed.
Related Topics: Florida civil litigation, Florida personal injury, Florida default final judgment, Florida Motion to Set Aside Default Final Judgment, Florida Motion to Set Aside Order
