940 Ocean Drive, LLC v. Sobe USA, LLC
In a commercial landlord/tenant dispute, the trial court struck the landlord's pleadings and defaulted it for fraud on the court after evidence showed the landlord hired a private investigator to pose as a hotel guest and manufacture noise citations against the tenant, then concealed the scheme in discovery. The Third DCA affirmed the sanctions order, the order granting leave to plead punitive damages, and the dismissal of a second, duplicative eviction action, but reversed the $17.4 million punitive damages award because section 768.725, Florida Statutes, requires the plaintiff to establish entitlement to punitive damages at trial by clear and convincing evidence inotwithstanding a default.
Key facts
- 940 Ocean Drive, LLC (landlord) sued Sobe USA, LLC (tenant) in a commercial landlord/tenant dispute; the trial court discovered that the landlord hired a private investigator to pose as a hotel guest and manufacture noise citations against the tenant, then concealed the scheme during discovery.
- The trial court struck the landlord's pleadings and entered a default judgment as a sanction for fraud on the court, then awarded the tenant $17.4 million in punitive damages.
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Why it matters
This is the leading Third DCA statement that a default — including a fraud-on-the-court default — does not relieve a plaintiff of the section 768.725 obligation to prove punitive entitlement at trial by clear and… — full analysis with a trial
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