## Facts

- Donna and Joseph Cerniglia married in 1970.
- On July 11, 1990, Joseph filed for dissolution of marriage; the parties signed a marital settlement agreement the same day.
- At an August 20, 1990 dissolution hearing, the court questioned Donna about the agreement; she stated she signed voluntarily, had counsel’s advice, and was satisfied with Joseph’s financial disclosure.
- The court entered a final judgment dissolving the marriage and incorporated the settlement agreement.
- The settlement agreement included broad language releasing “all claims of whatever nature” between the parties as a full and complete settlement.
- On November 17, 1993, Donna filed a five-count civil action against Joseph: (I) assault and battery, (II) intentional infliction of emotional distress, (III) common-law fraud, (IV) breach of contract, and (V) an independent action alleging extrinsic fraud/fraud on the court to set aside the settlement agreement.
- Donna alleged physical and mental abuse, and asserted the agreement was procured by duress, coercion, and threats; she also alleged oral promises of additional payments and incomplete financial disclosure.
- In the dissolution case, Donna also sought relief from the 1990 judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b), relying on the same alleged conduct.

## Issues

1. Whether the marital settlement agreement’s broad general release barred later tort and contract claims arising from the marriage.
2. Whether allegations of coercion, duress, threats, and incomplete disclosure in procuring the settlement agreement stated extrinsic fraud (fraud on the court) permitting an independent action outside Rule 1.540(b)’s one-year limit.
3. Whether the 1993 amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) applied retroactively to a 1990 dissolution judgment.
4. Whether the trial court properly denied leave to amend the fraud-on-the-court count to add allegations based on false financial affidavits.

## Decision

- The District Court of Appeal affirmed all appealed orders.
- The court affirmed summary judgment for Joseph on all five counts of the civil complaint, concluding the settlement agreement’s release barred the claims as a matter of law.
- The court affirmed denial of Donna’s independent action to set aside the settlement agreement, treating the asserted misconduct as intrinsic to the dissolution proceeding and therefore subject to Rule 1.540(b)’s time limits.
- The court affirmed denial of Rule 1.540(b) relief, agreeing the 1993 amendment did not apply retroactively and the challenge was untimely.
- The court affirmed denial of leave to amend Count V.
- The court certified conflict with Lamb v. Leiter, 603 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), on whether coercion and duress constitute intrinsic or extrinsic fraud.

## Legal Principles

- A marital settlement agreement containing a clear, broad general release may bar subsequent tort and contract claims between former spouses when the claims arise from the marital relationship covered by the release.
- Challenges asserting that a settlement agreement was procured through coercion, duress, threats, or incomplete disclosure may be treated as intrinsic fraud when the matters were, or could have been, addressed in the dissolution proceeding.
- Intrinsic-fraud challenges to a final judgment must be brought within the time limits of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b); relabeling the same grounds as an independent “fraud on the court” action does not avoid the rule’s deadline where the alleged wrongdoing concerns issues presented to the dissolution court.
- Amendments to Rule 1.540(b) do not apply retroactively absent a basis for retroactive application.

## Conclusion

The court enforced a broadly worded settlement release to bar later tort and contract claims and held that alleged coercion, duress, and nondisclosure in obtaining the dissolution settlement constituted an untimely, intrinsic-fraud challenge governed by Rule 1.540(b), not a viable independent action for fraud on the court.


Cerniglia v. Cerniglia, 655 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)