Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 98-2224.
| Decision Date | 25 August 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-2224.,98-2224. |
| Citation | 740 So.2d 1233 |
| Parties | Dominick DESIMONE, Appellant, v. OLD DOMINION INSURANCE COMPANY d/b/a The Fort Lauderdale Inn, and Southern Inns Management, Inc., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Maurice Graham, Oakland Park, for appellant.
Esther E. Galicia of George, Hartz, Lundeen, Flagg & Fulmer, Fort Lauderdale, for appellees.
Dominick Desimone, plaintiff below, appeals from the dismissal of his personal injury suit against the owner and manager of a bar for damages he allegedly sustained when he was struck by a vehicle operated by an intoxicated bar patron in the parking lot of the bar. The trial court granted the defendants/appellees' motion to dismiss the case based upon plaintiff's fraud. We affirm on the authority of Savino v. Florida Drive In Theatre Management, Inc., 697 So.2d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).
The trial court granted appellees' motion to dismiss for fraud after holding a lengthy evidentiary hearing. The court found that during discovery appellant made deliberate misrepresentations and gave false information regarding his prior involvement in personal injury litigation, prior similar injuries, past medical treatment, criminal history, employment status and income. The court concluded that appellant made "numerous and repeated misstatements of fact designed to intentionally thwart defendants from conducting discovery" and that such conduct amounted to "a perpetration of fraud upon the court."
We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's dismissal of this case with prejudice. Our court has recognized and enforced the principle that "where a party perpetrates a fraud on the court which permeates the entire proceedings, dismissal of the entire case is proper." Savino, 697 So.2d at 1011 (citing Kornblum v. Schneider, 609 So.2d 138, 139 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)). Like the plaintiff in Savino, appellant lied about matters that bore directly on the issue of damages. The trial court properly determined that his conduct amounted to "a scheme calculated to interfere with the court's ability to impartially adjudicate his claim." We find that the court's dismissal of appellant's lawsuit was an appropriate sanction and affirm.
With respect to appellant's second point on appeal, we agree that the trial court erred in admitting depositions of appellant's two former employers, absent the unavailability findings required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.330. However, we find this...
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Arzuman v. Saud
...J., concur. 1.See e.g. Cox; Hogan v. Dollar Rent A Car Sys., Inc., 783 So.2d 1211 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So.2d 1233 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Savino v. Fla. Drive In Theatre Mgmt., 697 So.2d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Morgan v. Campbell, 816 So.2d 251 (Fla. 2d......
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Cherubino v. Fenstersheib and Fox, P.A., 4D05-330.
...a fraud on the court which permeates the entire proceedings, dismissal of the entire case is proper.'" Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So.2d 1233, 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (quoting However, "[b]ecause dismissal with prejudice for fraud on the court is such an extreme remedy, the frau......
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Taylor v. Martell
...entire proceedings. See Hogan v. Dollar Rent A Car Sys., Inc., 783 So.2d 1211, 1212 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So.2d 1233, 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Savino v. Fla. Drive In Theatre Mgmt., Inc., 697 So.2d 1011, 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA This case is unlike those cas......
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Fraud on the court as a basis for dismissal with prejudice or default: an old remedy has new teeth.
...should not be permitted to employ the very institution they have subverted to achieve their end); Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So. 2d 1233 (Fla. 4th D.C.A. 1999) (trial court's dismissal of action was justified because of plaintiff's fraud during discovery); Baker v. Myers Tractor......