Priester v. Grand Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Inc., 96-623

• Decision Date: 29 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-623,96-623
• Citation: 688 So.2d 376
• Parties: 22 Fla. L. Weekly D309 Fred A. PRIESTER and Laurie Priester, his wife, Appellants, v. GRAND AERIE OF THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, INC. a/k/a Fraternal Order of Eagles, Louis J. Barna, The Greater Conch Republic of F.O.E. 4138, Inc., Bernie Barber and Florida State Aerie, F.O.E., Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 376

688 So.2d 376

22 Fla. L. Weekly D309

Fred A. PRIESTER and Laurie Priester, his wife, Appellants, v. GRAND AERIE OF THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, INC. a/k/a Fraternal Order of Eagles, Louis J. Barna, The Greater Conch Republic of F.O.E. 4138, Inc., Bernie Barber and Florida State Aerie, F.O.E., Appellees.

No. 96-623.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Third District.

Jan. 29, 1997.

Rehearing Denied March 12, 1997.

Thomas P. Feola, Miami, for appellant.

Gaebe, Murphy, Mullen & Antonelli and David Kleinberg, Coral Gables; Rogers, Towers, Bailey, Jones & Gay and James W. Middleton, Jacksonville, for appellees.

Before NESBITT, GODERICH and GREEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Fred Priester appeals a final order dismissing with prejudice his negligence count against appellees Grand Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Inc. a/k/a Fraternal Order of Eagles (hereinafter "Eagles") and Bernie Barber for failure to state a cause of action. We reverse.

Priester and his wife filed a five-count second amended complaint against various parties for personal injuries sustained by Priester when the president (one Louis Barna), of his local Eagle lodge ("the Conch Republic"), allegedly assaulted and injured Priester as he attempted to enter a meeting at the lodge to publicly accuse Barna of raping a female member of the lodge. Earlier on the date of the attack, it is alleged that Priester telephoned Barna to alert Barna that he would be bringing in the alleged rape victim to the Conch Republic's premises to confront Barna in front of all of the lodge's members. According to the complaint, Barna was "extremely protective of the local lodge and the Fraternal Order of Eagles" and told Priester not to come to the premises as it would "create a scene" and "not be good for the club."

Priester's negligence action against the appellees national and state Eagle organizations stems from allegations that these organizations through their agent, Bernie Barber, ousted the duly elected local officers of Priester's lodge and appointed a new slate of officers, with Barna at the helm. In so doing, Priester alleges that the appellees were negligent in appointing or placing Barna in a position of leadership of this organization without regard to Barna's fitness to hold office and without proper investigation and knowledge of Barna's background. According to the complaint, Barna was a "known alcoholic, trouble maker and womanizer" who was combative and abusive and regularly disturbed other members with his outbursts and behavior. Priester essentially alleges in his action that the appellees' failure to perform a reasonable investigation into Barna's background prior to placing him in a leadership position created a foreseeable dangerous condition for others in a setting where alcoholic beverages were regularly being sold and consumed. ¹

The appellees successfully moved to dismiss this negligence count with prejudice for failure to state a cause of action. The basis of their motion to the trial court below was that: (1) they had no duty to investigate Barna's background prior to appointing him as president of the local lodge; and (2) the second amended complaint failed to allege that Barna was acting within the scope of his duties as president when he assaulted Priester. ²

Accepting as we must the well-pled allegations to be true, ³ we first find that they were sufficient to give rise to an actionable duty as a matter of law. Once the appellees ousted the lodge's duly elected local officers and voluntarily undertook the task of replacing them with leaders of their choosing, we think that appellees assumed a duty to perform this task in a reasonable and prudent manner so as not to expose its local lodge members to a foreseeable risk of harm. See Union Park Memorial Chapel v. Hutt, 670 So.2d 64, 66-67 (Fla.1996) (holding that although a funeral director has no general duty to lead funeral procession, once the director voluntarily undertakes to do so, director assumes duty of reasonable care to ensure procession members proceed safely to cemetery); Slemp v. City of North Miami, 545 So.2d 256, 258 (Fla.1989) (even where city had no general duty to protect property owners from flooding due to natural causes, once city undertakes such a duty, it assumes responsibility to act with reasonable care); Grace v. City of Miami, 661 So.2d 1232, 1233 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (where city "undertakes to provide a lunch program for children at a city-owned park, it assumes the duty to operate the program safely"); see also Kaufman v. A-1 Bus Lines, Inc., 416 So.2d 863, 864 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) ("An action undertaken for the benefit of another must be performed in accordance with a duty to exercise due care.") (citations omitted). We do not believe that appellees can escape a duty of care if a reasonable inquiry into Barna's background and dangerous propensities would have placed them on notice that he was ill-suited to serve in a leadership role of an organization of this nature.

According to the complaint, the Conch Republic lodge not only serves as a meeting place, but it is also an establishment where alcoholic beverages are consumed by its patrons. The proprietor of a bar or saloon, although not an insurer of a patron's safety, is bound to use every reasonable effort to maintain order among the patrons, employees, or those who come upon the premises and are likely to produce disorder to the injury or inconvenience of patrons lawfully in his place of business. E.g., Stevens v. Jefferson, 436 So.2d 33, 34 (Fla.1983). The president of the Conch...