JOHN E. STEELE, District Judge.
This matter comes before the Court on review of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (Doc. #48) filed on March 5, 2014. On April 4, 2014, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #56). As the Second Amended Complaint is now the operative pleading in the case, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (Doc. #48) will be denied as moot.
Also before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #59) filed on April 23, 2014. Plaintiff's Response (Doc. #61) was filed on May 7, 2014. For the reasons set forth below, that motion is denied.
Plaintiff Spirit Master Funding IV, LLC (Spirit) has filed a five-count Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #56) against Defendants All Sports Grill Holdings, LLC (All Sports), Fort Myers Sports Grill, LLC (Fort Myers Grill), and Kousay Askar (Askar). The underlying facts, as set forth in the Second Amended Complaint, are as follows.
In August 2009, Spirit and Baig-FM, LLC (Baig) entered into a lease agreement (the Lease). (
In November 2012, Spirit notified All Sports that it was in default under the Lease due to its failure to provide the required financial statements. (
Accordingly, in Count I Spirit seeks a declaratory judgment that All Sports is the proper assignee and tenant under the Lease. In Counts II, III, and V, Spirit brings claims against All Sports and Fort Myers Grill for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and conversion. In Count IV, Spirit brings a claim for fraud against All Sports, Fort Myers Grill, and Askar.
Askar now moves to dismiss Count IV on that grounds that (1) Spirit has failed to state a cause of action for fraud; and (2) Spirit cannot proceed against Askar in his individual capacity. Spirit responds that Count IV is adequately pled as to all Defendants, including Askar.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a Complaint must contain a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a) (2). This obligation "requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do."
In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all factual allegations in a complaint as true and take them in the light most favorable to plaintiff,
Additionally, fraud claims are subject to the heightened pleading requirements of Rule 9(b), which require a complaint "to state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud." Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). "Particularity means that a plaintiff must plead facts as to time, place, and substance of the defendant's alleged fraud, specifically the details of the defendant's allegedly fraudulent acts, when they occurred, and who engaged in them."
Askar argues that Count IV must be dismissed because (1) Spirit's allegations do not contain the specificity needed to satisfy Rule 9(b); and (2) Spirit cannot maintain a fraud claim against him in his individual capacity. (Doc. #61.)
The Second Amended Complaint alleges that Askar's misrepresentations began in "early 2012" and ended on February 17, 2012 when he secretly replaced the Assignment's signature page with one signed by Fort Myers Grill. (Doc. #56, ¶¶ 50-57.) According to Spirit, throughout that six-week time period, Askar, as agent for All Sports, misrepresented that All Sports would be the assignee under the Lease when, in actuality, Askar intended to substitute Fort Myers Grill without Spirit's knowledge. (
Askar is correct that Spirit does not specify the exact words said by Askar or the exact date(s) on which the alleged misrepresentations were made. However, the Second Amended Complaint explicitly states that the entirety of the alleged fraud took place during the six weeks preceding February 17, 2012, and the substance of the alleged fraud—concealing the intended assignee and secretly altering the Assignment's signature page—is undeniably clear. Moreover, Spirit's allegation that Askar signed the Assignment on behalf of All Sports prior to inserting a phony signature page is, in-and of-itself, a misrepresentation pled with specificity. Accordingly, Rule 9(b)'s pleading requirements have been met, as Askar has been alerted to the precise misconduct with which he has been charged.
Askar's second argument—that Spirit cannot maintain an action against him in his individual capacity—is also unavailing. Spirit alleges that Askar was acting as an agent for All Sports when he made the alleged misrepresentations. (Doc. #56 at ¶ Florida law is clear that agents may be held personally liable for fraud committed in their representative capacity.
Accordingly, it is now
1. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (Doc. #48) is
2. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #59) is