Scovell v. Delco Oil Co., Inc., 5D01-1004.

• Decision Date: 02 November 2001
• Docket Number: No. 5D01-1004.,5D01-1004.
• Citation: 798 So.2d 844
• Parties: William H. SCOVELL & Sandra Z. Scovell, Appellants, v. DELCO OIL COMPANY, INC., and Steve Deluca, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

798 So.2d 844

William H. SCOVELL & Sandra Z. Scovell, Appellants, v. DELCO OIL COMPANY, INC., and Steve Deluca, Appellees.

No. 5D01-1004.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

November 2, 2001.

Howard L. Cauvel, of Rano, Cauvel & Ceely, P.A., DeLand, for Appellants.

Christopher R. Ditslear, Law Office of Robert Foster, P.A., DeLand, for Appellees.

THOMPSON, C.J.

William H. Scovell and Sandra Z. Scovell (collectively, "Scovells") timely appeal the circuit court's final judgment dismissing with prejudice their complaint for damages against Delco Oil Company, Inc., and Steve DeLuca (collectively, "Delco"). We reverse.

In their complaint, the Scovells alleged that Delco had leased from the Scovells certain real property in Sanford upon which a gas station and convenience store sat, and Delco had breached that lease. The Scovells sought: i) damages in the amount of unpaid rent for the remaining lease term; and ii) additional damages for Delco's failure to remove petroleum storage and dispensing equipment from the property pursuant to the terms of the lease. Together with the complaint, the Scovells attached a copy of the lease and a copy of a Final Judgment For Eviction, entered in county court in Seminole County, which determined that Delco had breached the lease and that the Scovells were entitled to a writ of possession of the leased premises. According to the eviction judgment, Delco breached the lease, by failing to install new petroleum lines, per a lease extension signed by both parties.

Delco moved to dismiss the complaint. Delco argued that the rule against splitting a cause of action requires that all damages sustained or accruing as a result of a single wrongful act must be claimed and recovered in one action or not at all. Delco argued that because the complaint demonstrated that the Scovells had their day in court in Seminole County as it relates to this breach, their attempt to bring another complaint was barred by the rule against splitting causes of action.

The trial court granted Delco's motion to dismiss. The trial court's decision is stated succinctly in the judgment:

The damages sought in the instant case are the result of a breach of the lease agreement, which was ruled upon the Seminole County Court. Such damages should have been claimed and recovered in that case, where the parties were the same and the facts and circumstances were identical.

Whether a complaint should be dismissed is a question of law. See City of Gainesville v. State, Dep't of Transp., 778 So.2d 519, 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)

. The "court's gaze is limited to the four corners of the complaint, including the attachments incorporated in it, and all well pleaded allegations are taken as true." Alevizos v. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Found., 764 So.2d 8, 9 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)(citing Provence v. Palm Beach Taverns, Inc., 676 So.2d 1022 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).) On appeal of a judgment granting a motion to dismiss, the standard of review is de novo. See City of Gainesville,

778 So.2d at 522.

The rule against splitting a cause of action requires that all damages sustained by a party as a result of a single wrongful act are lost if not claimed or recovered in one action. See Bryant v. Allstate Ins. Co., 584 So.2d 194, 195 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)

(citing Gaynon v. Statum, 151 Fla. 793, 10 So.2d 432 (1942)). Affirmative defenses like res judicata (usually used to raise the rule) ordinarily must be pleaded in an answer, and not on a motion to dismiss. See Barbado v. Green & Murphy, P.A., 758 So.2d 1173, 1174 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). An exception is made, however, when the face of the complaint is sufficient to demonstrate the existence of the defense. See Bess v. Eagle Capital, Inc., 704 So.2d 621, 622 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)(citing Duncan v. Prudential Ins. Co., 690 So.2d 687, 688 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) (affirming dismissal on grounds of res judicata and estoppel by...