Florida Evergreen Fol. v. E.I. Dupont De Nemours

• Decision Date: 26 July 2004
• Docket Number: No. 98-2242-CIV.,98-2242-CIV.
• Citation: 336 F.Supp.2d 1239
• Parties: FLORIDA EVERGREEN FOLIAGE and Louis Chang, Plaintiffs, v. E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY, a Delaware corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

336 F.Supp.2d 1239

FLORIDA EVERGREEN FOLIAGE and Louis Chang, Plaintiffs, v. E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY, a Delaware corporation, Defendant.

No. 98-2242-CIV.

No. 98-2242-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

July 26, 2004.

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Stephens Clay, Esq., James F. Bogan, III, Esq., William H. Boice, Esq., Kilpatrick & Stockton, LLP, Atlanta, GA.

Alice G. Hector, Esq., Lance A. Harke, Esq., Hector & Harke, LLP, Miami, FL.

Edward A. Moss, Esq., Thomas E. Scott, Esq., Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, Miami, FL.

A. Camden Lewis, Esq., Mary G. Lewis, Esq., Thomas A. Pendarvis, Esq., Lewis, Babcock & Hawkins, Columbia, SC.

L. Sean Moore, Esq., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Stephen T. Cox, Esq., David W. Moyer, Molligan Cox & Moyer, San Francisco, CA.

Chan P. Townsley, Esq., Hutton & Hutton, Wichita, KS.

Thomas W. Curvin, Esq., Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, Atlanta, GA.

John M. Brumbaugh, Esq., Richard Greer Weil Brumbaugh, Mirabito & Christensen, P.A., Miami, FL.

Daniel W. Sigelman, Esq., Kellogg, Saccoccia & Sigelman, Washington, DC.

Sheehe & Venditelli, P.A., Miami.

Jack Scarola, Esq., David Sales, Esq., Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, PA, West Palm Beach, FL.

James Ferraro, Esq., Lynn M. Holtzman, Esq., Ferraro & Associates, PA, Miami, FL.

Carl H. Osaki, Honolulu, HI.

Adam P. Schwartz, Esq., Zuckerman, Spaeder, Taylor & Evans, Tampa, FL, Gil A. Haddad, Esq., Coral Gables.

Kris A. LaGuire, Esq., Hilo, HI.

Melvin Y. Agena, Esq., Law Offices of Melvin Y. Agena, Honolulu, HI.

OMNIBUS ORDER

GOLD, District Judge.

This Cause is before the Court upon the following motions: (1) Motion to Amend (DE # s 406, 407)¹ filed on November 10, 2003 and the Corrigenda to the Motion to Amend (DE # 409) filed on December 1, 2003 by Plaintiffs in Case Nos. 98-2242, 98-2243, 98-2244, 98-2245, 98-2246, 98-2247, 98-2248, 98-2249, 98-2254, 99-0336, 99-2307, 99-2308, 99-2309, 99-2310, 00-2771, 00-2772, and 00-2773 (collectively "Plaintiff-Growers"²), (2) the Motion to Amend (Case No. 97-0059,³ DE # 325) filed on March 9, 2004 by Plaintiff Mazzoni Farms (former Case No. 97-0062) and Plaintiff Jack Martin Greenhouses (former Case No. 97-0063) (collectively "Ferraro Plaintiffs"), (3) DuPont's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE # 416, filed January 13, 2004) dismissing with prejudice all settlement fraud claims and defenses, (4) DuPont's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE # 418, filed January 13, 2004) on issue of breach of settlement agreement, (5) Plaintiff-Growers' Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (DE # 445, filed April 20, 2004), (6) Ferraro Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion and Memorandum of Law in Support of Summary Judgment (DE # s 453, 454, filed April 21, 2004) dismissing DuPont's counterclaims, (7) Searcy Denney Growers' Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (DE # 436, filed April 19, 2004), (8) the Motions to Dismiss and Memoranda of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss (Case No. 99-7217, DE # s 345, 346; Case No. 99-7228, DE # s 344, 345; Case No. 99-7229, DE # s 344, 345) filed on January 27, 2004 by the Defendants in Case Nos. 99-7217, 99-7228, 99-7229 (collectively "Ferraro Defendants")⁴, (9) the Motion to Amend Answer (Case No. 99-7038, DE # 432) filed on March 8, 2004 by the Plaintiffs in Case Nos. 99-7038, 99-7039, 99-7040, 99-7041, 99-7042, 99-7043 (collectively "Searcy Denney Growers" or "Searcy Denney"), and (10) DuPont's Motion for Summary Judgment against Defendant DeLuca International, Inc. ("DeLuca")⁵ (Case No. 99-7217, DE # 366, filed April 12, 2004). United States Magistrate Judge Andrea M. Simonton held a case management conference on February 18, 2004 and subsequently issued a Report Re: Case Management Conference ("Report") (DE # 444, filed March 26, 2004) which set forth a schedule making the aforementioned Motions ripe by June 4, 2004. Oral Argument regarding these Motions was held on June 25, 2004.⁶ Upon review of the parties' arguments, the record, applicable statutes, and case law, the Motions to Amend the Complaints are DENIED, DuPont's Motion for Summary Judgment as to the settlement fraud claims is GRANTED, DuPont's Motion for Summary Judgment as to breach of settlement is DENIED, the Growers' Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and Ferraro Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. Accordingly, these cases are CLOSED, and the remaining Motions are DENIED AS MOOT. Because this Omnibus Order involves several pending matters in twenty-nine different cases, I have attached as Appendix I a table of contents outlining the Order.

BACKGROUND

I described the background of these cases in my previous Orders in Case No. 98-2256, and those Orders are incorporated herein by reference. Florida Evergreen Foliage v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 135 F.Supp.2d. 1271 (S.D.Fla.2001) ("Florida Evergeen I"), aff'd, Green Leaf Nursery v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 341 F.3d 1292 (11th Cir.2003) ("Green Leaf"); Florida Evergreen Foliage v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 165 F.Supp.2d. 1345 (S.D.Fla.2001) ("Florida Evergreen II"), aff'd, Green Leaf Nursery v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 341 F.3d 1292 (11th Cir.2003). This Background also recites from the Eleventh Circuit's decision Green Leaf affirming those Orders. After discussing these previous decisions, I will discuss the pending claims regarding the different sets of growers. Finally, I will briefly summarize portions of oral argument during which the parties provided me with further background regarding the matters that are essentially at issue in this case.

I. Florida Evergreen I and II and Green Leaf

In Florida Evergreen I and II and in Green Leaf, DuPont moved for judgment on the pleadings against Plaintiffs in Case No. 98-2256. Plaintiffs' claims arise out of a prior lawsuit filed in Florida state court in 1992, in which Plaintiffs alleged products liability based on property damage caused by DuPont's fungicide Benlate and actual fraud claims based on DuPont's alleged concealment of Benlate's defects (the "Underlying Lawsuit"). In 1994, Plaintiffs settled these underlying claims and eventually dismissed their lawsuit with prejudice.

Plaintiffs in Case No. 98-2256 then filed the instant action, alleging that during the course of the litigation of the Underlying Lawsuit, DuPont wrongfully, illegally, and fraudulently withheld from discovery vital scientific data and information that DuPont was under an obligation to produce in the Underlying Lawsuit and in other related Benlate litigation being conducted simultaneously in other courts, which Plaintiffs' attorneys were monitoring, and gave false testimony in other Benlate cases about Benlate's alleged defects. Plaintiffs alleged that DuPont withheld the information and made false statements in the implementation of a scheme to defraud Plaintiffs and others who had used Benlate and suffered resulting damage. As a result of the scheme and fraud, Plaintiffs alleged that they were induced to settle the Underlying Lawsuit for less money than they would have otherwise insisted upon and been able to obtain.

Although Plaintiffs accepted and kept the settlement monies, affirming the settlement agreement, they filed an action against DuPont alleging the following thirteen claims for relief: (1) fraud, (2) intentional nondisclosure of material facts, (3) fraudulent inducement to settle, (4) fraud on the court under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), (5) rescission and damages for fraud, (6) racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), (7) violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) by conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), (8) conspiracy, (9) abuse of process, (10) infliction of emotional distress, (11) interference with prospective economic advantage, (12) spoliation of evidence, and (13) violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. I dismissed these claims in two orders and entered judgment in favor of DuPont. I also denied Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend the Complaint and denied the remaining Plaintiff-Growers' Motions to Amend without Prejudice. Plaintiffs in Case No. 98-2256 appealed the two Orders separately. The Eleventh Circuit consolidated the appeals and affirmed my Orders.

II. Pending Motions

The Motions that are pending before me involve five sets of growers: (1) Plaintiff-Growers, (2) Ferraro Plaintiffs, (3) Searcy Denney Growers, and (4) the Ferraro Defendants. I will discuss each set of growers.

A. Plaintiff-Growers: Background and Pending Motions

With the exception of Plaintiff-Growers who filed their complaints in 2000⁷, Plaintiff-Growers' First Amended Complaint contains thirteen claims for relief: (1) fraud, (2) intentional nondisclosure of material facts, (3) fraudulent inducement to settle, (4) fraud on the court under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), (5) rescission and damages for fraud, (6) racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), (7) violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) by conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), (8) conspiracy, (9) abuse of process, (10) infliction of emotional distress, (11) interference with prospective economic advantage, (12) spoliation of evidence and (13) violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. (Report at 8). DuPont has filed its Answers and Counterclaims against all grower Plaintiffs, asserting claims for breach of the settlement agreement, specific performance, injunctive relief, reformation, and restitution.⁸ (Id.). Plaintiff-Growers have raised numerous defenses and affirmative defenses to the Counterclaims, including res judicata, collateral estoppel, unclean hands, fraud, failure to perform excused by DuPont's breach, waiver, estoppel, and unconscionability. (Report at 8-9).

All cases, except Case No. 98-2256,⁹ have pending motions for leave to file a proposed Second Amended Complaint. (Id.). Prior to a status conference before me on January 30, 2004,...