In these consolidated appeals, Agritrade L.P. and Agritrade Lending, S.A. appeal partial final summary judgments entered against them in favor of Antonio Quercia and Agro Supply, S.A., and Juan Curbelo appeals final judgment entered against him, following a jury trial, in favor of Agro Supply, S.A. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part.
Agritrade L.P. ("LP") and Agritrade Lending, S.A. ("Lending") are in the business of exporting agricultural products from the United States to Venezuela. Juan Curbelo ("Curbelo") is a member of LP and Lending, as well as several other related Agritrade companies.
On March 14, 2012, Agritrade manager/agent Ruben Sierra sent a letter on generic Agritrade letterhead, indicating an agreement for Quercia to "send funds" in the amount of $15 million "as an investment, which will accrue interest at an annual rate of 10%, to be renewed quarterly as Mr. Quercia may decide." The letter further provided that Quercia would give twenty days' notice when he wished to "withdraw the funds" and that the funds would be "received around the week of March 12, 2012." The letter was signed only by Sierra. (This letter will hereinafter be referred to as "the Letter of Intent.")
On March 29, 2012, Sierra, on behalf of Lending, executed a "Revolving Promissory Note" evincing a loan from Quercia (identified as the "Payee") to Lending (identified as the "Maker"). Under the terms of the note, the principal was due on or before June 26, 2012, and as the Letter of Intent had indicated, fixed an interest rate of ten percent per annum. Quercia transferred the funds from his company Agro Supply's bank account to LP, who later allegedly transferred the funds to Lending.
On June 26, 2012, the day the note was to become due, another "Revolving Promissory Note" was executed by Sierra in favor of Quercia (again identified as the "Payee"), but this time Sierra signed under an LP signature block. Nonetheless, Lending was still identified in the note as the "Maker." The remaining terms of the note were the same, with the exception that the due date for repayment was extended to December 1, 2012. No additional funds were transferred.
As of May 1, 2013, it is undisputed that $9.5 million of the loaned funds remained unpaid. On that date, Agro Supply sued Lending and LP, as well as several other related entities and individuals. After the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint based on, inter alia, Agro Supply's failure to join Quercia as an indispensable party, an amended complaint was filed, adding Quercia as a plaintiff. The amended complaint alleged the following counts:
LP and Lending both answered the amended complaint, asserting several affirmative defenses, including: the Letter of Intent was subsumed and replaced by the subsequent promissory notes; Sierra made a mistake in identifying LP in the promissory note, and Lending was the actual borrower; and Quercia and Agro must elect between their incompatible theories of recovery (unjust enrichment or breach of contract).
Quercia and Agro moved for summary judgment against Lending on counts I and II (breach of contract and breach of promissory note) and against LP on count V (unjust enrichment). Quercia and Agro also moved for summary judgment on Count VIII, the lost instrument count. Agritrade filed its own motion for summary judgment, claiming that the original plaintiff, Agro, lacked standing at the time the complaint was filed, which was not later cured by adding Quercia as a plaintiff.
On July 31, 2015, the trial court held a hearing on all the pending motions for summary judgment. As to Quercia and Agro's motion for summary judgment on counts I and II (breach of contract and breach of promissory note) against Lending, the court denied the motion as to Agro, but granted it as to Quercia. As to Quercia and Agro's motion for summary
Thereafter, Quercia and Agro voluntarily dismissed the remaining counts against LP and Lending and the court entered final judgment as follows: (1) in favor of Quercia against Lending in the amount of $9.5 million plus interest; and (2) in favor of Agro against LP in the amount of $9.5 million plus interest.
Lending and LP appealed (Case No. 3D15-2392). While the appeal was pending, the case proceeded to trial on counts III (fraudulent transfer) and V (unjust enrichment) against Curbelo only.
Curbelo timely appealed the final judgments against him (Case No. 3D16-1181) and the appeals of all the judgments in this case were consolidated by this court.
LP and Lending assert that the trial court erred in entering summary judgment on the breach of contract, breach of note, unjust enrichment and lost note counts because, inter alia, there were genuine issues of material fact as to: (1) who was entitled to enforce the note — Quercia, Agro Supply, or both; (2) who was the second note's maker; (3) whether there was mutual assent to form a contract with the letter of intent; and (4) who conveyed and who retained the benefit of the money lent. Further, LP and Lending assert that summary judgment was improper as a matter of law.
The undisputed evidence was that the promissory note identified Quercia as the "Payee" and Lending as the "Maker." Lending acknowledges that it borrowed money from
However, we agree with Lending, and Agro Supply concedes, that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Agro Supply on the lost note count. The undisputed evidence established that only Quercia, and not Agro Supply, was a party to the promissory
As to the unjust enrichment claim, LP argues that the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment against LP and in favor of Agro Supply because there were disputed issues of fact as to who owned the money/conveyed the benefit (Agro Supply or Quercia) and as to whether LP retained the benefit or transferred it to Lending.
"The elements of a cause of action for unjust enrichment are: (1) plaintiff has conferred a benefit on the defendant, who has knowledge thereof; (2) defendant voluntarily accepts and retains the benefit conferred; and (3) the circumstances are such that it would be inequitable for the defendant to retain the benefit without first paying the value thereof to the plaintiff."
At the time summary judgment was entered, the undisputed facts established: Agro Supply wired the $15 million directly to the bank account of LP; LP received those funds; and LP used those funds. Further,
As for the second prong — whether LP retained the benefit — LP contends that the affidavit of its treasurer and board member, Rita Wulff, created an issue of fact, because she averred that although she provided Quercia with the wiring instructions for Lending's bank account, the money was mistakenly deposited into LP's bank account, and to remedy that mistake, LP and Lending "adjusted their respective books and records and made corresponding journal entries." However, Wulff did not state that LP actually transferred that money from its account to Lending's account. Rather, LP was the entity that actually paid back portions of the loan to Agro Supply on December 3, 2012 ($5 million) and on March 8, 2013 ($500,000). One month after the first installment was made (January 2, 2013), the alleged accounting adjustment was made. Further, Wulff acknowledged in her deposition that LP was the entity that used the loan proceeds.
As to the third element of an unjust enrichment claim, LP and Lending contend that Agro Supply did not suffer any harm because the undisputed evidence established the money loaned actually belonged to Quercia, not Agro Supply. However, it is undisputed that Agro Supply, a corporation, supplied the funds and therefore, the fact that the corporation might be a savings house for Quercia's money is irrelevant. LP and Lending failed to establish a lack of corporate formalities which would extinguish Agro Supply's interest in the loan proceeds it provided to LP.
LP and Lending also argue that Agro Supply cannot recover under the unjust enrichment count because it is barred by the existence of an express contract.
However, in this unique situation, the parties to the contract which "concerns the same subject matter" are not the parties between whom the claim for unjust enrichment lies. Instead, the parties to the instant contract were Quercia and LP, while the "parties" in the unjust enrichment claim were Agro Supply and LP. We find this distinction significant. In
The court in
The second appeal is from the two final judgments entered in favor of Quercia and Agro Supply, and against Curbelo, following a jury verdict which found Curbelo liable for unjust enrichment and fraudulent transfer. The amended complaint alleged that Curbelo was the alter ego of all the Agritrade companies, which all operated with a lack of attention to corporate formalities and under the sole control of Curbelo. The complaint also alleged that Curbelo fraudulently transferred funds to Galo Group, another company that was Curbelo's alter ego, "in furtherance of Curbelo's wrongful and fraudulent scheme to unjustly enrichment himself and to improperly recoup monies from the Agritrade Entities."
As to the unjust enrichment claim, Curbelo argues that it should be reversed because, inter alia, Quercia and Agro Supply did not confer a direct benefit on Curbelo; the claim was based on a veil-piercing theory that was never pled; and there was no evidence of an alter-ego relationship. Alternatively, Curbelo asserts that this court should reduce the amount of interest awarded because contractual interest is not available on a claim for unjust enrichment. We find that the veil-piercing theory was properly pled, and further, that competent, substantial evidence supported the jury's determination that an alter-ego relationship did exist and that a direct
We affirm the trial court's final judgments against LP, Lending and Curbelo, except for the judgment entered in favor Agro Supply against LP on the lost note count (Count VIII). We reverse that judgment and remand for the trial court to amend that portion of the final judgment which entered judgment in favor of Agro Supply against LP on Count VIII. In all other respects, the judgments are affirmed.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with directions.