TA PLLC Uses Novel Argument to Secure Summary Judgement in Promissory Note Case
Miami, FL – December 11, 2023 – Attorneys at TA PLLC recently secured a motion for
summary judgment and final judgment for their client using a novel argument that has
seemingly never been used in Florida.
Their client, made a loan of $1,061,000 to Kirk Taboada in August 2016, evidenced by a
promissory note. Mr. Taboada did not pay the promissory note when it became due on
December 30, 2017, and it subsequently accrued $697,295.01 in interest.
TA PLLC filed a lawsuit to collect, but shortly thereafter dismissed the lawsuit. Upon
dismissal, Mr. Taboada asked the Court to grant him prevailing party attorney’s fees
under the promissory note. The Court agreed and awarded Mr. Taboada attorney’s fees.
TA PLLC refiled the lawsuit, and Mr. Taboada defended by contending the promissory
note was a gambling debt, which is unenforceable under Florida statutory law. Had Mr.
Taboada prevailed on that defense, TA PLLC’s client may have been denied a recovery.
TA PLLC Partner Alexander Salinas came up with the idea of streamlining the lawsuit
and circumventing Mr. Taboada’s defense by applying the doctrine of promissory
estoppel to preclude Mr. Taboada from contending the promissory note was
unenforceable because Mr. Taboada successfully enforced the promissory note when he
collected attorney’s fees in the first action. The doctrine of promissory estoppel means
that if a party previously successfully took a position in a similar action, that party cannot
then turn around and make an inconsistent argument. However, TA PLLC faced a
challenge as Florida courts had yet to rule on this issue, and TA PLLC had to persuade
the Court to rely on jurisprudence from other jurisdictions.
Thanks to this strategy, Mr. Salinas and the TA PLLC team secured a final summary
judgment for their client in the sum of $1,758,295.01. Mr. Taboada’s legal team filed a
motion for rehearing, and the Judge issued a ruling on December 5, 2023, denying that
motion.
The case was filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami (CASE NO: 2018-
032780-CA-01) with the Honorable Carlos Guzman presiding.
ABOUT TA PLLC
TA PLLC is a full-service business law firm offering both domestic and international clients
sophisticated legal representation in connection with a wide range of commercial matters,
both transactional and dispute-related, including real estate, hospitality, mergers and
acquisitions, general corporate matters, complex commercial litigation, and US and
international arbitration.