Jones v. Directors Guild of America, Inc., 90-1706

• Decision Date: 30 July 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-1706,90-1706
• Parties: Jack JONES, Appellant, v. DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, INC., a California corporation; Lee H. Katzin Productions, f/s/o Lee Katzin; and Claude Binyon, Jr., Appellees. 584 So.2d 1057, 16 Fla. L. Week. D1988
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1057

584 So.2d 1057

Jack JONES, Appellant, v. DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, INC., a California corporation Lee H. Katzin Productions, f/s/o Lee Katzin and Claude Binyon, Jr., Appellees.

No. 90-1706.

584 So.2d 1057, 16 Fla. L. Week. D1988

District Court of Appeal of Florida First District.

July 30, 1991.

Thomas M. Ervin, Jr., and Robert M. Ervin, Jr., of Ervin, Varn, Jacobs, Odom & Ervin, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Thomas K. Sciarrino, Jr., of Kass, Hodges and Massari, Tampa, for appellees.

ZEHMER, Judge.

This is a quiet title action in which Jack Jones seeks to determine whether California arbitration awards and the judgments entered thereon constitute valid liens on certain real estate Jones owns in Levy County by virtue of their having been filed and recorded there under the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, Secs. 55.501-55.509, Florida Statutes (1989). He appeals a final order denying his motion for summary judgment and granting appellees' motion for summary judgment. Because the record reflects that there are disputed issues of material fact in respect to California's exercise of personal jurisdiction over Jones, and more particularly whether Jones guaranteed certain obligations due and owed by others in California, we reverse and remand for a full evidentiary hearing.

The facts material to the issues on appeal are revealed by the affidavits and attached documents. No depositions or other testimony were filed in support of the motions for summary judgment.

Appellee Director's Guild of America (DGA) is a labor organization and collective bargaining representative for directors, unit production managers, and assistant directors in the motion picture and television industry. Premru Productions, Inc. (Premru), is a production company that, as a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with DGA, employed appellees Lee Katzin and Claude Binyon, members of DGA, to work in connection with its production of a motion picture entitled "Deathwork." Jack Jones was the executive producer of Deathwork. During October 1984, the expected financing for Deathwork did not materialize, and Premru failed to pay Katzin and Binyon the compensation it owed them under the collective bargaining agreement. The collective bargaining agreement apparently contained an arbitration agreement covering grievances arising out of members' employment, and DGA submitted grievance and arbitration claims on behalf of Katzin and Binyon against Premru. For reasons explained below, Jones was later added as a defendant in the arbitration proceedings. Neither Premru nor Jones appeared, personally or through counsel, at the arbitration hearings. Whether Jones was ever served with process in the arbitration proceeding is in dispute. The arbitration resulted in an award of $55,000 to Katzin and an award of $36,251 to Binyon. Premru and Jones failed to pay the arbitration awards, and DGA filed petitions to confirm the awards in a California court. The California court entered judgments against Premru and Jones confirming both awards. In April 1986, DGA recorded the Binyon and Katzin judgments in the public records of Levy County, Florida, pursuant to the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act.

In February 1989, Jack Jones filed the instant complaint in the circuit court to quiet title to property he owns in Levy County, alleging that the Katzin and Binyon judgments had cast a cloud on his title to this property. He alleged that the California court did not have personal jurisdiction over him and thus wrongfully entered the Binyon and Katzin judgments against him, and that the lack of personal jurisdiction in California rendered the judgments void and their recordation in the Levy County public records wrongful.

Jones subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, and stated in his supporting affidavit that he has never been a resident of California; that he does not own any real or personal property in California; that he has never maintained any business office in California; that he has no employees in California; that he is not a stockholder, director, officer, agent, or principal of any California corporation; that he has never transacted any business in California; that he has never authorized any person, firm, or corporation to do business in his name in California; that he was never a signatory to any contracts or agreements with DGA, Katzin, or Binyon providing for arbitration or otherwise; that he was never personally served with process concerning any arbitration proceedings; that he never consented to jurisdiction of the California court; and that Premru had no authority to represent him in any capacity or to sign any contracts or agreements on his behalf that would subject him to liability in favor of DGA, Katzin, or Binyon.

DGA, Katzin, and Binyon also filed a motion for summary judgment. In support thereof, and in opposition to Jones's motion, they filed an affidavit of Beverly Ware, attorney for DGA, Katzin, and Binyon. The affidavit stated that in December 1984, Ware had a telephone conversation with a person at Premru's offices who identified himself as Jack Jones and requested that DGA not proceed any further with the Katzin arbitration so that DGA members could continue to work on Deathwork. She agreed to postpone the arbitration proceedings in exchange for Jones's agreement to guarantee payment of $55,000 to Katzin. She confirmed that conversation by letter to Jones, and received a responsive letter from Jones confirming the conversation and stating that he would serve as a guarantor. In January 1985 she informed Premru that DGA would proceed with the Katzin arbitration unless DGA received guaranties from persons of sufficient financial standing guaranteeing payment to Binyon of $36,251. Thereafter, she received a letter from Jones guaranteeing payment of that sum to Binyon. In March 1985, when neither Katzin nor Binyon had been paid, she mailed notices to Jones that she would be seeking arbitration awards for Katzin and Binyon and that Jones would be added as a party. Jones confirmed his receipt of these notices by telephone. Thereafter, Ware mailed copies of the arbitration claims, notices of hearings, and awards to Jones at his Cedar Key address, and Frances Nesbitt, Jones's assistant, signed the return receipts for some of these documents. Ware also mailed the petitions, notices of hearing, and judgments confirming the arbitration awards to Jones at his Cedar Key address; return receipts for these documents were signed by either Nesbitt or Jones. In April 1986, DGA filed certified copies of the Katzin and Binyon judgments in the Levy County public records and the clerk of the Levy County court mailed a notice of recording final judgments to Jones at his Cedar Key address.

Jones timely filed an affidavit in opposition to appellees' motion for summary judgment stating that he had no recollection of any telephone conversation with anyone concerning his guaranteeing payment to Katzin, that he never authored any letters guaranteeing such payment, and that he never authorized anyone else to write such letters. He stated that any letters representating that he would serve as guarantor were forgeries.

The trial court, upon consideration of the above motions, affidavits, and documents attached thereto, denied Jones's motion and entered summary final judgment in favor of appellees DGA, Katzin, and Binyon.

Jones argues on appeal that the court erred in denying his motion for summary judgment made on the ground that the California court lacked personal jurisdiction over him. Jones contends that "undisputed" statements in his affidavit established a complete absence of any contact by him with...