Case Name: FLORIDA SUNSHINE COAST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, INC. and Donna Manley, Appellants, v. Frank McCLUNG, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1977-11-23
Citations: 352 So. 2d 154
Docket Number: No. 77-138
Parties: FLORIDA SUNSHINE COAST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, INC. and Donna Manley, Appellants, v. Frank McCLUNG, Appellee.
Judges: SCHEB, J., and McNULTY, JOSEPH P. (Ret.), Associate Judge, concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 352
Pages: 154–158

Head Matter:
FLORIDA SUNSHINE COAST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, INC. and Donna Manley, Appellants, v. Frank McCLUNG, Appellee.
No. 77-138.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
Nov. 23, 1977.
Charlie Luckie, Jr., of Macfarlane, Ferguson, Allison &' Kelly, Tampa, for appellants.
Law Offices of Frank McClung, Brooks-ville, for appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
The trial court awarded plaintiff/appel-lee a judgment for $11,174.99 against defendants/appellants, Florida Sunshine Coast Development Co., Inc. and Donna Manley. We affirm as to the judgment entered against the corporate defendant but reverse as to the judgment against Donna Manley.
Plaintiff, a practicing attorney, sued defendants for legal fees. The evidence disclosed that Ms. Manley, president and sole owner of Florida Sunshine Co., retained plaintiff to obtain security for two nonin-terest bearing promissory notes totaling in excess of $200,000, payable to Florida Sunshine by two other corporations. Plaintiff was paid a retainer fee of $1,500 with additional fees to be paid later. These additional fees were confirmed by plaintiff's letter of May 15, 1976, directed to Ms. Manley, which in part stated:
In order to confirm our telephone conversation of this same date concerning my attorney fees in representing your company in the collection of the two promissory notes against T.K. & R., Inc. and Gulf Land Surveyors, Inc., my charges will be $250 per suit plus 10% of the amount to be collected. It was necessary, of course, to file two suits since there were two notes against the separate corporations. (Emphasis added.)
Suits were filed by plaintiff attorney against each of the two corporations. A settlement resulted with the notes being redrawn to provide for interest, attorney's fees in the event of default, and, most importantly, for the new notes to be secured by mortgages. Shortly thereafter plaintiff collected in excess of $12,000 from the two corporations, and from these proceeds he was paid part of his fees. A dispute arose over whether the remainder of the fees were immediately due plaintiff, or whether they were payable only as Florida Sunshine received payments under the newly secured notes.
In a nonjury trial the court concluded that under the retainer agreement, plaintiff was presently entitled to his fees for having successfully obtained the secured notes in favor of Florida Sunshine. Our review of the record discloses substantial, competent evidence to support this finding, which was the legal basis for the judgment entered against defendant Florida Sunshine.
Plaintiff seeks to sustain his judgment against Ms. Manley on the basis of an admission in defendants' answer that plaintiff was employed on behalf of Florida Sunshine and Ms. Manley. At trial after plaintiff rested, counsel for Ms. Manley claimed such admission was inadvertent and sought to amend her pleadings. Plaintiff objected, and the trial court denied the motion. In so doing we think the trial court erred.
Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.190(b) provides that parties should be freely allowed to amend, unless the party objecting to the amendment can show that it will prejudice his case. We cannot see how plaintiff's case would have been prejudiced by the amendment defendants sought. From the evidence it appears most likely that when Ms. Manley retained plaintiff she did so on behalf of Florida Sunshine and not in her individual capacity. The notes sued upon were both payable to and held by Florida Sunshine, and not Ms. Manley. The plaintiff's letter mentioned previously acknowledged representation of Florida Sunshine and made no reference to representation of Ms. Manley individually. Plaintiff does not suggest any fraud or overreaching.
On the other hand, it appears to us that the trial court's refusal to grant the motion to amend did, in fact, prejudice Ms. Manley. A corporation enters contracts through its officers, and where, as here, the evidence clearly reflects the legal services were sought on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, there is no basis for entry of a judgment individually against the corporate officer who requested that service. See generally, 19 Am.Jur.2d, Corporations, Section 1341 (1965); 7 Fla.Jur., Corporations, Section 305 (1956). Here plaintiff attorney initiated litigation against two corporations on behalf of Florida Sunshine. He effectuated a settlement by which Florida Sunshine's notes were secured. Ostensibly Ms. Manley had no legal interest in the corporate notes. The corporation was obviously benefited, but there was no showing that Ms. Manley sought plaintiff's services in her own behalf, or that the services he rendered benefited her individually. Clearly, to impose personal liability on Ms. Manley as a result of the corporation's transaction would expose her to a liability not ordinarily visited upon officers of properly organized corporate entities.
Had the trial judge allowed defendants to amend their answer, as we think he should have, it would have been appropriate to permit plaintiff to present whatever evidence he may have had bearing on Ms. Manley's liability. Though it is difficult for us to envision that Ms. Manley employed plaintiff on her own behalf as well as the corporation's, we realize that this possibility does exist.
Accordingly, the judgment against Ms. Manley is vacated, and the cause remanded with directions to the trial court to grant the amendment requested by defendants. Plaintiff should be permitted to present additional evidence as to Ms. Manley's liability if he so desires. The judgment against Florida Sunshine is affirmed.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the trial court.
SCHEB, J., and McNULTY, JOSEPH P. (Ret.), Associate Judge, concur.
HOBSON, A. C. J., dissents with opinion.