Florida Real Property and Business Litigation Report
Volume XVII, Issue 40
October 5, 2024
Manuel Farach
Incident365 Florida, LLC v. Ocean Pointe V Condominium Association, Inc., Case Nos. 3D22-2239, 3D22-2240 & 3D22-2241 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).
(https://3dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2441488/opinion/Opinion_2022-2239.pdf)
When considering the definitions of “contractor” in section 489.105(3) and “building contractor” in section 489.105(3)(b) and the statutory context, six of the seven contracted tasks performed by a remediation company did not require a contractor’s license.
McLane Foodservice, Inc. v. Wool, Case No. 3D24-0566 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).
(https://3dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2441510/opinion/Opinion_2024-0566.pdf)
A party seeking to depose a high-level corporate officer notwithstanding Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(h) must demonstrate that it has exhausted other discovery methods, that the existing discovery was inadequate, and that the proposed deponent has unique, personal knowledge of discoverable information.
LAD Commercial, LLC v. Eagle Trace At Vero Beach Homeowners’ Association, Inc., Case No. 4D2023-1100 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024).
(https://4dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2441482/opinion/Opinion_2023-1100.pdf)
A cause of action for breach of contract accrues according to the terms of the contract, and accordingly, a claim for invoices under a contract for continuous services with no fixed time of payment remains within the statute of limitation if the underlying contract sets forth that the agreement continues to accrue at the time of withdrawal, termination of employment, or completion of services.
Rapid Surplus Refund LLC v. Ryan & Rick, LLC, Case Nos. 4D2024-0079 and 4D2024-1182 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024).
(https://4dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2441512/opinion/Opinion_2024-1182.pdf)
A superior lienholder, i.e., one whose lien was recorded before the mortgage that was foreclosed, is not a “subordinate lienholder” under Florida Statute section 45.032 and is not entitled to surplus foreclosure funds over the owner of the property.
Forrey v. Marlin Construction Group, LLC, Case No. 6D2023-2559 (Fla. 6th DCA 2024).
(https://6dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2441324/opinion/Opinion_2023-2559.pdf)
A finding of bad faith conduct to support an award of fees and costs must be predicated on a high degree of specificity in the factual findings and the amount of the award of attorneys’ fees must be directly related to the attorneys’ fees and costs that the opposing party has incurred as a result of the specific bad faith conduct.