Bertrand v. Belhomme

Gisleine Bertrand appeals the dismissal of her complaint with prejudice on the basis that she committed misconduct and fraud in the prosecution of the proceedings before the trial court. We reverse because the trial court relied mostly on fraudulent conduct in connection with a federal proceeding to dismiss the complaint with prejudice which would not support a dismissal of the state court action.

At issue in the underlying case is Bertrand’s ownership of an eight million dollar lottery prize the Florida Lottery awarded on October 2, 1999. In her multi-count complaint filed against appellant…