5D06-2950 Thorpe v. Gelbwaks

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D06-2950

Case Date: 03/12/2007

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 2007

ROGER THORPE, CHRISTINE THORPE, et al., Appellants, v. MATTHEW GELBWAKS, et al., Appellees. ________________________________/ Opinion filed March 16, 2007 Non Final Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Renee A. Roche, Judge. Eric A. Lanigan, Winter Park, for Appellant. Matt G. Firestone of Pohl & Short, P.A., Winter Park, for Appellee. EVANDER, J. The plaintiffs below (hereinafter referred to as the "Thorpes") appeal from an order granting Matthew Gelbwaks' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. We have jurisdiction.1 We find the trial court erred in granting Gelbwaks' motion to dismiss, and accordingly, we reverse. In March 2006, the Thorpes filed their second amended complaint against Keith Albrizzi, Claudine Andrews, Lawrence Haber and Gelbwaks for violation of the Sale of Fla. R. App. P. 9.30(a)(3)(C)(i) ("Appeals to the district courts of appeal of nonfinal orders are limited to those that . . . determine . . . the jurisdiction of the person.").
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Case No. 5D06-2950

Business Opportunities Act, 2 violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act,3 fraudulent practices, 4 and common law fraud. The defendants were

alleged to be the stockholders of Relay Transportation, Inc. (hereinafter "Relay"). The Thorpes alleged they paid $50,000 to purchase a franchise5 from Relay. Among other things, the Thorpes alleged the defendants misrepresented Relay's financial condition, misrepresented the franchise's expected sales and profits, and failed to make certain legally required disclosures. But for this alleged misconduct by the defendants, the Thorpes claim they would not have purchased the franchise from Relay. The Thorpes further alleged that notwithstanding their best efforts, the franchise was a complete failure. The franchise was located in Winter Park, Florida. Gelbwaks moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction on the grounds the second amended complaint failed to allege sufficient facts to obtain jurisdiction over him under Florida's long-arm statute and failed to allege sufficient minimum contacts between Gelbwaks and the State of Florida. In his supporting affidavit, Gelbwaks averred, inter alia, that he was a New Hampshire resident and had never been a resident of Florida. He denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

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