HomeMy WebLinkAbout0932 ZN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA.
CASE NO. 86-504-CA-17 i
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TRACY B. STEVENS,
Plaintif f , ~~s~~
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SAMUEL E. FRANCIS, JR., '
et al. , ~
Defendants. c
ORDER ON MOTIONS TO DISriISS r
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THIS CAUSE came to be heard on the Motions to Dismiss
filed by all Defendants herein. The Court has cansidered
the Motions and the arguments of counsel.
The Court has rejected all parts of th~ Motions,
except those bearing on the statute of limitations. It also
believes the instant ruling also makes those other points moot.
The question is whether the statute began to run Qn
January 10, 1981, when a series of by-law amendments were
adopted which effectively eliminated Plaintiff's joint
control ot the corporation, or on November l, 1985, when the
Defendants, Samuel E. Francis, Jr., and Cynthia L. Francis,
acting under the terms ot the amended by-laws voted to r~move
Plaintiff as a director and employee of the Defendant corpora-
tion, Jack Frost Laboratories, Inc.
Generally, the statute of limita'tioi~s begins to run
when a person has been put on notice that his legal rights
have been violated, 35 Fla. Jur. 2d, Limitations and Laches,
Sec. 37. However, Florida Supreme Court has recently supple-
- mented that proposition by ruling that someone must first
~ be actually damaged by the wrongful acts, before the cause
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g of action begins to accrue. Penthouse North Association,
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' Inc., v Lombardi, 461 So. 2d I350, 1352 (Fla., 1984).
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< .As stated by Plaintiff in his complaint, he certainly
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had notice of the alleged wrongful act on January 10, 1981,
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r when the amendments occured, since he was at the meeting and
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~ voted against the actions. Plaintif f argues the harm or
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F damages did not materialize until Navember 1, 1985, when he
~ was terminated. The Court disagrees.
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~ BK~526 P~sE0927 i
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