Meadows Community Association, Inc. v. Russell-Tutty

• Decision Date: 31 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2D05-416.,2D05-416.
• Parties: The MEADOWS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Appellant, v. Louise Claire RUSSELL-TUTTY, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

928 So.2d 1276

The MEADOWS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Appellant, v. Louise Claire RUSSELL-TUTTY, Appellee.

No. 2D05-416.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

May 31, 2006.

Robert L. Moore of Kanetsky, Moore & Deboer, P.A., Venice, for Appellant.

Jeffrey A. Rapkin, North Port, for Appellee.

VILLANTI, Judge.

The issues presented by this appeal are whether the amended complaint filed by a homeowners' association against a unit owner states a cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief and, therefore, whether the trial court erred in dismissing, with prejudice, the amended complaint for failure to state a cause of action. In reviewing a final order such as this, the appellate court must accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true. See Lutz Lake Fern Road Neighborhood Groups, Inc. v. Hillsborough County, 779 So.2d 380, 383 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). "Because the question of whether a complaint states a cause of action is one of law, the standard of review is de novo." Id. The amended complaint stated a cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief, and therefore we reverse the trial court's order and remand for further proceedings.

The Meadows Community Association, Inc., a Florida homeowners' association, filed an action against Louise Claire Russell-Tutty, a unit owner, seeking to clarify its rights under the Association's documents. The Association sought to compel Ms. Russell-Tutty to require her invitee to comply with the Association's rules, specifically to control her adult son's reckless driving on the Association's private roads. The complaint was later amended to add the son as a party.¹ According to the amended complaint, the son resided with Ms. Russell-Tutty in her condominium, which is governed by the Association's Declaration of Maintenance Covenants and Restrictions; the son repeatedly violated the speed limits and engaged in unsafe and reckless driving; and the local sheriff's department declined to enforce the alleged traffic violations on the Association's private roads. The amended complaint sought both declaratory and injunctive relief involving the interpretation and enforcement of the Association's Declaration. These claims are necessarily interrelated, and each turns on whether Ms. Russell-Tutty can be directed to control her son's actions while he is her invitee on Association property.

Although the amended complaint consists of only one count, it advances two theories to support the injunctive relief request—violation of certain deed restrictions and abatement of a nuisance. Ms. Russell-Tutty filed an answer and a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action. Ms. Russell-Tutty did not move to dismiss on the ground that the amended complaint could not be understood or that it improperly mixed causes of action in a single count.

[W]here a complaint contains sufficient allegations to acquaint the defendant with the plaintiff's charge of wrongdoing so that the defendant can intelligently answer the same, it is error to dismiss the action on the ground that more specific allegations are required.... A motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a cause of action does not reach defects of vague and ambiguous pleading.

Fontainebleau Hotel Corp. v. Walters, 246 So.2d 563, 565 (Fla.1971) (citations omitted). Indeed, the basis of the motion to dismiss here was Ms. Russell-Tutty's defense—that enforcement of traffic laws is within the sole province of law enforcement, that courts cannot enjoin criminal behavior, that the amended complaint fails to allege a factual nexus between Ms. Russell-Tutty and her son, and that Ms. Russell-Tutty cannot be ordered to control the actions of another individual.

Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice. In dismissing the amended complaint, the trial court gave no explanation for its ruling. The trial court's order denying the motion for rehearing also failed to provide any explanation for its ruling.

On appeal, the Association argues that it sufficiently pleaded a cause of action based on Ms. Russell-Tutty's alleged violations of the restrictive covenants. We agree that the facts alleged in the amended complaint state a cause of action for injunctive and declaratory relief. Although not a model of clarity, the amended complaint essentially alleged that the Association was in doubt as to its rights under the Association documents and sought an injunction requiring Ms. Russell-Tutty to require her son to comply with the Association's traffic regulations.

It is not for the court to speculate whether the allegations are true or whether the pleader has the ability to prove them.... "The question for the trial court to decide is simply whether, assuming all the allegations in the complaint to be true, the plaintiff would be entitled to the relief requested."

Fox v. Prof'l Wrecker Operators of Fla., Inc., 801 So.2d 175, 178 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (quoting Cintron v. Osmose Wood Preserving, Inc., 681 So.2d 859, 861 (Fla. 5th DCA ...