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The court granted the motion on the basis of Pressman v. Wolf, 732 So.2d 356, 361 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 744 So.2d 459 (Fla. 1999). This timely appeal followed. Appellants, individual homeowners in the Brindlewood Subdivision ("Brindlewood") in Palm Beach County, appeal after the trial court dismissed their complaint against their developer, M/I Schottenstein Homes, Inc. ("Schottenstein"), with prejudice. They argue that they alleged sufficient facts to support a cause of action against Schottenstein.
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Nelson suggested the test for whether the availability of adverse information in public records precludes a fraud claim is the reasonableness of the buyer's actions vis-a-vis the extent of investigatory effort that one would expend to discover such records. Noting that the "question of whether a cause of action for fraudulent misrepresentation exists where the putatively misrepresented information is contained in the public record is one of fact." Finally, the purchasers alleged that they purchased their homes in reliance upon the false representations of Schottenstein. When the purchasers discovered that the parcel was not to be a “natural preserve,” they filed this action for fraud in the inducement of their real estate contracts, recision of the contracts, and negligent misrepresentation with respect to the contracts. When the purchasers discovered that the parcel was not to be a "natural preserve," they filed this action for fraud in the inducement of their real estate contracts, recision of the contracts, and negligent misrepresentation with respect to the contracts. Although raising the possibility of an exception for matters within the chain of title, the majority offers no guidance on when it “may often” be the case that reliance upon a misrepresentation regarding information in a chain of title may be unjustified so as to support a trial court ruling as a matter of law.
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Indeed, in Besett we broadly held, " recipient may rely on the truth of a representation, even though its falsity could have been ascertained had he made an investigation, unless he knows the representation to be false or its falsity is obvious to him." 389 So.2d at 998. On appeal, the Fourth District affirmed the circuit court's dismissal in part and reversed it in part. See Azam, 761 So.2d at 1196.
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Azam v. M/I Schottenstein Homes, Inc.
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We specifically approve the holding of the court below that under these circumstances whether a cause of action for fraudulent misrepresentation exists regarding information contained in a public record presents a question of fact. As such decision is in direct conflict with the decision of the Third District Court of Appeal to the extent it announced the broad statement that, “Statements concerning public record cannot form the basis for a claim of actionable fraud,” 732 So.2d at 361, the Third District's view cannot stand. We hereby disapprove this broad statement contained in the Third District's Pressman v. Wolf opinion. In pursuing this case-by-case consideration of the facts, courts should be mindful of the type of information that the purchaser asserts was fraudulently misrepresented. The question, to refer back to this Court's decision in Besett, is whether the recipient of the misrepresentation is “justified in relying upon its truth.” 389 So.2d at 997.
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We hold that a recipient may rely on the truth of a representation, even though its falsity could have been ascertained had he made an investigation, unless he knows the representation to be false or its falsity is obvious to him. In Johnson v. Davis, this Court extended the Besett reasoning from affirmative misrepresentations to the arena of nondisclosure of material facts. The court very clearly stated that “where the seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose them to the buyer.” Johnson v. Davis, 480 So.2d 625, 629 (Fla.1985). The court very clearly stated that "where the seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose them to the buyer." Johnson v. Davis, 480 So.2d 625, 629 (Fla. 1985). Schottenstein filed a motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice.
This Court expressly recognized in Besett that there may be cases in which the falsity of a statement is obvious, and under those circumstances no cause of action could be stated. See Besett, 389 So.2d at 997 (“The recipient of a fraudulent misrepresentation is not justified in relying upon its truth if he knows that it is false or its falsity is obvious to him.”) (quoting Restatement § 541). This situation may exist when the presence of information within a parcel's chain of title renders certain misrepresentations so obviously false that reliance thereupon would not be justified. In this situation, it would be entirely proper for a trial court to rule against the plaintiff as a matter of law. The concurrence is unduly concerned in its statement that today's decision "could signal a return to caveat emptor." Concurring op. at 98.
Upon analysis, it becomes clear that the concurrence would extend Besett to establish a bright line rule that misrepresentation claims may never be dismissed as a matter of law-an extreme rule of law that this Court has never approached. In accordance with Besett, we simply hold that the trial court must always evaluate the facts of the situation before it, and resolve the issues on a case-by-case fashion. The concurrence's proposed rule is directly contrary to this principle. And recision counts; however, it disagreed with the trial court's determination with regard to the fraud claim. Specifically stating, "We disagree with the broad prohibition in Pressman," the court held that whether a fraud claim is properly asserted with respect to matters contained in the public record is a factual question that should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Request a copy of each insurance certificate for your records before any work begins. We have an extremely expansive definition in this state of a “public record.” See ch. There are at least three decisions of this Court which impact the instant case.3 As the result reached here is derived directly from these three cases, a brief review of each reveals the principals which guide our decision today. There are at least three decisions of this Court which impact the instant case. As the result reached here is derived directly from these three cases, a brief review of each reveals the principals which guide our decision today. We have an extremely expansive definition in this state of a "public record." See ch.
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