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Gray v. Union Planters National Bank
Citations: 654 So. 2d 1288; 1995 Fla. App. LEXIS 5772; 1995 WL 322415Docket: No. 94-2718
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; May 31, 1995; Florida; State Appellate Court
The summary judgment of foreclosure in favor of Union Planters National Bank is reversed. A court cannot grant summary judgment when a defendant raises legally sufficient affirmative defenses that remain unchallenged. In this case, the bank's motion and its supporting documents did not address the factual issues raised by Gray's affirmative defenses. According to Florida law, if a defendant pleads an affirmative defense and the plaintiff does not refute it through affidavit, the plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment. Although Gray's affirmative defenses were filed late, he retained the right to respond before a default was entered, as established by Florida rules and case law. Gray's defenses were submitted prior to the summary judgment hearing, no default had been sought or entered, and they were not struck until after the judgment was granted. Therefore, the court should have taken Gray's defenses into account when ruling on the summary judgment motion. The bank, as the movant, bore the burden of disproving Gray's defenses, which it failed to do. As a result, the summary judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings.