Nicholas v. Ross
| Decision Date | 23 December 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-2524.,98-2524. |
| Citation | 721 So.2d 1241 |
| Parties | Nicole Marie NICHOLAS, Linda M. Nicholas and Emory Nicholas, Appellants, v. Joseph I. ROSS, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard A. Kupfer of Richard A. Kupfer, P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Joseph I. Ross, West Palm Beach, pro se.
This is an appeal of an order denying a motion to dismiss or transfer venue to Hillsborough County, Florida. Because the complaint fails to show a proper ground for venue in Palm Beach County, we reverse.
As assignee of claims of Beverly Limited, a foreign corporation, appellee Joseph Ross sued the appellants for damages resulting from wire transfers totaling $210,000 from Beverly Limited's accounts in Cayman Island banks to the individual account of appellant Nicole Nicholas in Tampa, Florida. The complaint states causes of action for monies due, civil theft, conversion, conspiracy, unjust enrichment and injunction. Attached to the complaint as exhibit A is the assignment of the cause of action from Beverly Limited to the appellee. That assignment states that it is transferring to appellee "[f]ull rights to collect and recover any and all sums due Beverly Limited of all wires, see attached exhibits A-K [not attached to the complaint] transferred and or requested to be transferred on [listing of dates and amounts transferred] to the individual account of Nicole Nicholas, Suncoast Federal Credit Union, 6801 East Hillsborough, Tampa ...." (emphasis supplied).
The appellants moved to dismiss the cause of action for improper venue, alleging that they were residents of Hillsborough County. The trial court held a hearing on the motion, at which time the appellee admitted that he did not know where the cause of action accrued, but asserted that it could have accrued in Palm Beach County. Appellee urged that venue was proper here as appellants had failed to prove otherwise. The trial court denied the motion, resulting in this appeal.
The venue statute provides that an action may be brought in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located. See § 47.011, Fla. Stat. (1997). The plaintiff has the option of venue selection so long as that selection is one of the statutory alternatives. See Oliver v. Severance, 542 So.2d 408, 409 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
. But the plaintiff must allege in the complaint a sufficient basis for the selected venue. See Goedmakers v. Goedmakers, 520 So.2d 575, 578 (Fla.1988); Perry Bldg. Sys., Inc. v. Hayes & Bates, Inc., 361 So.2d 443, 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)...
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Arnold, Matheny, P.A. v. First Am. Holdings
...a bank account, the payee obtains possession and control once the funds are physically present in its account. See Nicholas v. Ross, 721 So.2d 1241, 1243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (appellant obtained possession of funds from wire transfer once the funds were deposited into her account). As for th......
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Goodall v. Whispering Woods Center, L.L.C.
...an exhibit is considered a part of the pleading. Geico Gen. Ins. Co. v. Graci, 849 So.2d 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Nicholas v. Ross, 721 So.2d 1241, 1243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.130(b). When there are conflicts between the allegations of a complaint and the documents attached......
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Blackhawk Quarry Co. v. Hewitt Contracting
...The plaintiff has the option of selecting venue as long as the plaintiff's choice is supported by the statutes. See Nicholas v. Ross, 721 So.2d 1241, 1242 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). To change venue, the defendant has the burden of showing that the venue selected by the plaintiff is improper. See ......
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Nationstar Mortg., LLC v. Zorie
...a “complaint incorporates the exhibits attached thereto,” and the exhibits are “considered part of the pleadings.” Nicholas v. Ross, 721 So.2d 1241, 1243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) ; see also Labbee v. Harrington, 913 So.2d 679, 683–84 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). “Judgment on the pleadings can be granted ......