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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 1980
MARY TATS, )
)
Appellant, ) -
v.- ) CASE N0. 79-784
)
AETNA INSURANCE COMPANY, )
NOT FINAL UhT1'IL TIME EXPIRES
)lppellee. ) '11p FILE REHE~IAINC3 PETITION
AND.1F FILEDr DLD Oa
Opinion filed June 25, 1980
Appeal from the .Circuit Court
for St. Lucie County; Philip
C. Nourse, Judge.
Ralph L. Flowers, Fort Pierce,
for appellant.
Marjorie D. Gadarian of Jones &
Foster,- West Palm Beach, for
appellee.
NERSEY, J:
- This is_an appeal from a final order dismissing appellan~'s
complaint against Aetna Insurance Company with prejudice. We -
- will limit our discussion to those facts essential to determination
of the single issue before us.
In 197.7, appellant obtained a judgment against Custom Har- ~
I~ vestors, Inc. in a replevin action. Appellee, Aetna, was the
surety on the replevin bond issued to Custom Harvestors in that
i
action. Subsequently, Custom Harvestors changed its corporate
name and rearranged its corporate assets in a manner not clearly
specified in the record. As a result, appellant brought an action
for declaratory relief against the corporation, two of its princi-
pals and Aetna for a determination of the parties' respective rights
and liabilities under the 1977 judgment.
After the parties had exchanged numerous pleadings, a third
amended complaint tn?as dismissed with prejudice; preserving, however,
appellant's right to file a fourth amended complaint against ap-
a -
~ pellee, Aetna, only. Subsequently, the trial court dismissed the
fourth amended complaint with prejudice, finding:
that the plaintiff and her attorney have pre- _ t
judiced the rights of the surety and in effect re-
leased the security for the bond by their actions
in bringing about the Order of November 7, 1978 in
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