Shumrak v. Broken Sound Club, Inc., et al.
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
JANUARY TERM 2005
JOEL SHUMRAK,
Appellant,
v.
BROKEN SOUND CLUB, INC., a Florida
not-for-profit corporation, LARRY
RUTSTEIN, SOSHA GINSBERG, LARRY
SWARTZ, WILLIAM LEHRBERGER,
LARRY BJORNSEN, FRED GERKIN,
IRWIN GLICK, RICHARD GREENE,
DICK HANOR, FRANKLIN LOH, MIKE
MULLAUGH, DAVID SEGAL, HOWARD
SCHWARTZ and MILTON WEISS,
Appellees.
CASE NO. 4D03-5032
Opinion filed March 9, 2005
Appeal from the Circuit Court for the
Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County;
Thomas H. Barkdull, III, Judge; L.T. Case No.
502003CA002969XXXXAJ.
James N. Krivok of Dicker, Krivok & Stoloff,
P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Mayra I. Colón of Douberley & Cicero,
Boynton Beach, for appellees.
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
MOTION FOR REHEARING EN BANC
PER CURIAM.
We deny Joel Shumrak’s motion for rehearing
and motion for rehearing en banc. However, to
clarify our opin ion, we withdraw our previous
opinion and substitute this opinion in its place.
Joel Shumrak filed suit against Broken Sound
Club, Inc. (Broken Sound) and the individual
members of its Board of Governors (BOG) as a
result of a membership suspension. Shumrak
appeals the trial court’s granting of the
appellees’ motion to dismiss on six grounds.
After full consideration, we affirm on all
grounds and write only to address the issue of
whether Broken Sound is a private social club.
Joel Shumrak initially purchased a home in the
Broken Sound Country Club community at a
time when residents were not required to be
members of Broken Sound. Shumrak was,
however, a voluntary member.
A later
amendment to a governing document of the
subdivision required all individuals purchasing
property in the community to become members
of Broken Sound. However, those residents
owning p
roperty prior to the amendment were
not required to become members of Broken
Sound. Both Broken Sound and a homeowners’
association establish rules for members of the
community.
The dispute in this case arose after Shumrak
learned that the BOG was undertaking an
evaluation of Broken Sound’s general manager.
Shumrak telephoned a BOG member to ask
whether comment from Broken Sound members
was invited, and the BOG member indicated that
Shumrak could file written comments with him
which would remain confidential. Shumrak then
e-mailed comments, making certain accusations
against the general manager, to the BOG
member. The BOG member then forwarded
Shumrak’s e-mail to other BOG members,
Broken Sound members, and the general
manager.
As a result of the e-mail, the BOG president
and the general manager filed separate
grievances against Shumrak for violating Article
XV of the by-laws of Broken S
ound. Article
XV provides:
Any member or any family member or guest
of such member whose conduct shall be
deemed by the appropriate committee to be
improper or likely to endanger the welfare,
safety, harmony, or good reputation of the
Club or its members, may be reprimanded,
fined, or suspended from the Club by action of
the Board of Governors. The Board of
Governors shall be the sole judge of what
constitutes improper conduct or conduct likely
to endanger the welfare, safety, harmony or
good reputation of the Club or its members.
The grievances were referred to the Grievance
Committee for disciplinary proceedings. By
letter, Shumrak was notified that the Grievance
Committee would conduct a hearing. Although
Shumrak appeared at the hearing, he was not
permitted to hear the testimony of witnesses
called by the Grievance Committee.
1958)(“We agree that the courts should leave to
the members of a private social club or to the
proper board to which the members have
lawfully delegated that power, the right to
determine whether the action of a member has
been such that, in the opinion of such Board, it
would interfere with the pleasant, friendly and
congenial social relationship between the
members.”).
However, Shumrak contends that Broken
Sound is not a social club. Shumrak bases this
proposition on several arguments, including that
if he were expelled from Broken Sound, he
would be forced to sell his property because
membership in Broken Sound is a mandatory
condition of home ownership in the community.
See Fla. Yacht, 106 So. 2d at 209 (“[C]ertain
conduct, which might not justify expulsion from
some other type of association, where
membership is a condition to earning a
livelihood, or essential to the enjoyment of a
contract or property right, may justify expulsion
from a private social club.”). Here, Shumrak
asserts that the Broken Sound facilities are no
different from the common areas within
homeowners’ associations, and the enforcement
of rules and regulations by homeowners’
associations is subject to judicial review. See
Emerald Estates Cmty. Ass’n. v. Gorodetzer,
819 So. 2d 190 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Lakeridge
Greens Homeowners Ass’n v. Silberman, 765
So. 2d 95 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Accordingly,
Shumrak concludes that property rights are
implicated by his possible expulsion from the
club, and thus, Broken Sound is more
homeowners’ association than private social
club, making its disciplinary decisions subject to
judicial review.
The Grievance Committee made findings that
were then reviewed by the BOG. The BOG
notified Shumrak by letter that he was to be
suspended from the club for six months and was
required to write various letters of apology.
Shumrak appealed the decision, which resulted
in a hearing, and the reduction of Shumrak’s
suspension to three months (unless he failed to
write the letters of apology, in which event the
suspension could be continued indefinitely).
Shumrak filed a complaint, and later an
amended complaint, against Broken Sound and
the BOG, alleging breach of contract, breach of
fiduciary duty, and intentional infliction of
emotional distress. The trial court granted the
motion to dismiss based on its finding that
Broken Sound is a social club, a status that
prevents judicial review of its disciplinary
actions. The complaint was dismissed with
prejudice, and this appeal follows.
The standard of review applicable to a ruling
on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim
is de novo. Royal & Sunalliance v. Lauderdale
Marine Ctr., 877 So. 2d 843, 845 (Fla. 4th DCA
2004). In reviewing a motion to dismiss, the
court must take the allegations in the complaint
as true. Id.
We conclude that this argument is without
merit. Although we take the allegations of the
complaint as true as required when reviewing a
motion to dismiss, Shumrak’s potential
deprivation of property by expulsion is
conclusively refuted by the Broken Sound bylaws attached to the complaint. See Fladell v.
Palm Beach County Canvassing Bd., 772 So. 2d
1240, 1242 (Fla. 2000)(“If an exhibit facially
negates the cause of action asserted, the
Shumrak acknowledges that courts do not
review disciplinary actions of social clubs,
including voluntary membership country clubs.
See Boca W. Club, Inc. v. Levine, 578 So. 2d 14
(Fla. 4th DCA 1991); State ex rel. Barfield v.
Fla. Yacht Club, 106 So. 2d 207 (Fla. 1st DCA
2
document attached as an exhibit controls and
must be considered in determining a motion to
dismiss.”); Hollywood Lakes Section Civic
Ass’n v. City of Hollywood, 676 So. 2d 500,
501 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)(same). The by-laws
make no provision for expulsion from Broken
Sound, although providing for suspension for up
to one year. It is a fundamental principle of
contract construction, known as expressio unius
est exclusio alterius, that “the expression of one
thing is the exclusion of the other.” See Coral
Cadillac v. Stephens, 867 So. 2d 556, 558 (Fla.
4th DCA 2004). Because there is no potential
for expulsion in this case, Shumrak’s property
rights are not implicated and his argument that
Broken Sound is not a private club, but rather
more akin to a homeowners’ association, fails.
AFFIRMED.
GUNTHER, STONE and POLEN, JJ., concur.
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