Charlie Brown's of Tampa, Inc. v. Cook
Charlie Brown's of Tampa, Inc. v. Cook
Opinion of the Court
Charlie Brown’s of Tampa, Inc., appeals an order granting a motion to set aside a judgment. We reverse because we conclude that the evidence presented at the motion to set aside the judgment was legally insufficient to grant such relief.
Charlie Brown’s filed a complaint against James Cook for breach of fiduciary duty.
Cook represented himself in the lawsuit and did not appear for the trial. The trial
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) allows the court to set aside a judgment which a party obtained by fraud. Cook, in his motion to set aside the judgment, alleges intrinsic fraud on the part of Charlie Brown’s. “Intrinsic fraud ... applies to fraudulent conduct that arises within a proceeding and pertains to the issues in the case that have been tried or could have been tried.” DeClaire v. Yohcmcm, 453 So.2d 375, 377 (Fla. 1984). This affidavit of a third party does not make the allegations of the complaint fraudulent. The'fact that a former lessee transferred the liquor license to a prospective tenant and stated that there had been a sale of the business does not contradict Charlie Brown’s allegation that it was unaware at that time that the prospective tenants were operating a business there before the parties consummated any sale or lease agreement. We, therefore, reverse the order on the motion to set aside final judgment and reinstate the final judgment against Cook.
Reversed.
. Charlie Brown's also sued Cook’s employer for breach of fiduciary duty and two other defendants for theft.
. The trial court had entered a judgment one year earlier against the other defendants, but not against Cook, because the bankruptcy court had stayed the action against Cook.
. The affidavit stated:
I, the undersigned, do hereby swear or affirm that I am duly authorized to make this affidavit and do hereby consent, on my behalf or on behalf of the seller, to the above transfer, and represent to the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco that the license which is being transferred is as shown in the application and that a bona fide sale in good faith has been made to the within applicant [Tara Lynn De-Brocke] of the business for which the foregoing transfer of license is sought.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.