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Horowitz v. Laske8/29/2003
This case is on remand from the Florida Supreme Court. Wendt v. Horowitz, 822 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 2002). In Wendt, the supreme court reversed Horowitz v. Laske, 751 So. 2d 82 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999), in which we held that the trial court erred in denying a motion to dismiss for lack of long-arm jurisdiction. The supreme court reversed and remanded the case to this court to make the threshold determinations of whether Wendt's third-party complaint against Horowitz states a cause of action, and if so, whether the cause of action arose out of communications Horowitz made into Florida.
This case arose out of a failed investment scheme. Investors were told that they would receive interest on loans they made to K.D. Trinh Investments, Inc. ("K.D. Trinh"), a Canadian corporation. Bernard Wendt was a Florida resident who solicited investors for K.D. Trinh. Investors Edward and Ruth Laske filed a class action against Wendt, alleging that he was a broker and promoter of the promissory notes, which turned out to be worthless, and that the sale of the notes violated securities laws. They alleged that K.D. Trinh had been conducting a Ponzi scheme.
Wendt filed an amended third-party complaint against Horowitz, a Michigan resident who had given legal advice to K.D. Trinh, and Horowitz' Michigan law firm (collectively "Horowitz"). In the jurisdictional statement, Wendt alleged that Horowitz committed a tortious act in Florida by negligently responding to inquiries about the scheme made by Florida securities regulators and by negligently drafting loan documents that were knowingly intended by Horowitz to be evidence of loans to be made by Florida residents. Wendt also alleged that Horowitz caused personal injuries in Florida by negligently advising K.D. Trinh about the investment program.
In the first count against Horowitz, count VII of the third-party complaint, Wendt sought contribution from Horowitz. The jurisdictional allegations were incorporated into this count. Wendt also alleged that Horowitz entered an attorney-client relationship with K.D. Trinh to provide K.D. Trinh legal services in connection with the loans. Thereafter, Wendt alleged, Horowitz provided legal services to K.D. Trinh for the use of K.D. Trinh and for the use of individuals promoting the loans. Further, Wendt alleges that the legal services were intended for the use and benefit of individuals promoting the loans, and Horowitz knew that individuals promoting the loans would rely on the legal services provided by Horowitz. Wendt alleged that he was "a member of the class by whom and for whom the legal services of Horowitz . . . were intended and expected to be used." Wendt alleged that Horowitz negligently analyzed the loans and notes, negligently advised K.D. Trinh about securities laws, and negligently responded to state regulators. Wendt alleged that certain investors claimed that Wendt was responsible for their damages and that he was entitled to contribution from Horowitz.
In count VIII, Wendt sought indemnity from Horowitz. The jurisdictional allegations were incorporated into this count, as were the allegations that Horowitz provided K.D. Trinh legal services that would be used by the promoters of the loans and that Wendt was "a member of the class by whom and for whom the legal services of Horowitz . . . were intended and expected to be used." Wendt further alleged that he fulfilled any fiduciary duty (to the investors, presumably) he may have had by exercising due diligence and investigating through reliable sources K.D. Trinh's reputation as a legitimate business. He alleged that he had had no reason to know that the loans and the notes were not lawful or that the transactions might violate Florida law. We
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