Alevizos v. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Florida District Court of Appeal
764 So. 2d 8 (1999)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
John Alevizos (plaintiff), in collaboration with the Boston Red Sox baseball team, designed and built a baseball spring training complex in Winter Haven, Florida, in the 1970s. In 1989, Alevizos created preliminary development plans for a facility, called Westbrook, that would create a commercial and residential development centered around a baseball spring training complex. Alevizos’s plans for Westbrook were inspired by the Winter Haven facility. While searching for a building site, Alevizos contacted the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (the Foundation) (defendant) to inquire about purchasing a plot of land owned by the Foundation. The Foundation requested disclosure of Alevizos’s development plans for the land to help determine fair-market value for the property. Alevizos made a confidential disclosure of his short-form, preliminary development plans for the Westbrook facility. The Foundation declined to sell the land to Alevizos. Subsequently, the Foundation sold a different, but nearby, plot of land to George DeGuardiola to build a new baseball stadium. DeGuardiola’s new baseball stadium included a planned residential and commercial community surrounding the stadium, which was similar to Alevizos’s development plan for his proposed Westbrook spring training facility. Alevizos sued the Foundation for misappropriation of his idea and for unjust enrichment, arguing that the Foundation used his development plan for DeGuardiola’s stadium. The trial court dismissed Alevizos’s complaint for failure to state a cause of action. Alevizos appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gross, J.)
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