CITY OF MIAMI, APPELLANT,

v.

BAILEY & DAWES, A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, AND GUY B. BAILEY, JR., D/B/A LAW OFFICES OF GUY BAILEY, JR., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1982-12-21

No. 82-1801

Before BARKDULL, HENDRY and NESBITT, JJ.

423 So. 2d 606 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1982) Positive Treatment

Cited by 4 cases

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Holding

When a city terminates an employment contract for its own best interest, it must pay for services rendered up to the point of cancellation.

Facts & Procedural History

The city employed appellees to prosecute a lawsuit and later terminated their services as a policy matter. The city refused to pay for work done, and …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

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Topics

Termination For Convenience Quantum Meruit Contract Interpretation Breach Of Contract

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Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

The city employed the appellees to prosecute a certain cause of action relating to a parcel of real property. City of Miami v. St. Joe Paper Company, 347 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); City of Miami v. St. Joe Paper Company, 364 So. 2d 439 (Fla.1978); City of Miami v. St. Joe Paper Company, 441 U.S. 939, 99 S.Ct. 2153, 60 L.Ed.2d 1040 (1979).

Before the matter was concluded the city exercised the right to terminate the relationship as a policy matter in the best interests of the city. The contract of employment in this regard, read in part as follows:

If the firm of PETTIGREW & BAILEY is not proceeding in the best interest of the City of Miami, the City may cancel the contract, reimbursing PETTIGREW & BAILEY for its work done until the point of cancellation.

Subsequent to the dismissal of the suit then pending in the U.S. Supreme Court,1 the city refused to pay any fees. An action was instituted by the appellees to collect same and a summary judgment on liability was entered in favor of the appellees. The appeal ensued. We affirm.

When the city, as a policy matter, elected to terminate the services of the counsel in the city’s “best interest” in accordance with the contract, they assumed the responsibility to pay a reasonable fee for services rendered in accordance with the same provisions of the employment agreement. City National Bank of Miami v. Citibank, N.A., 373 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).

Therefore the summary judgment on liability be and the same is hereby affirmed.

. The case was on rehearing, and therefore was still pending. See Southern Title Research Co. v. King, 186 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966); Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Realm of Louisiana v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, 679 F. 2d 64 (5th Cir.1982); 1 C.J.S., Actions § 142.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

The City OF Miami v. Bailey & Dawes, 453 So. 2d 187 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)

…PER CURIAM. After our affirmance of a summary judgment on liability in favor of the plaintiff law firm, City of Miami v. Bailey & Dawes, 423 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), a jury trial to assess the reasonable fee to which it was entitled ended with a verdict of $175,000. A careful review of the record in the light of the points raised on this appeal from the consequent judgment shows that the defe…
Osman v. Hialeah Hous. Auth., 785 F.2d 1550 (11th Cir. 1986)

…man points out that most of the decided cases involved a private, rather than a public, client, there is no arguable reason why the rule would not apply equally to contracts between an attorney and a public body. See City of Miami v. Bailey & Dawes, 423 So. 2d 606 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). The personal nature of the attorney-client relationship is the same in both instances. That Osman may have a state cause of action for breach of contract does not mean that he has a property interest of constitutional dimensions…

Authorities Cited

Knights OF THE KU Klux Klan Realm OF Louisiana v. E. Baton Rouge Parish Sch. Bd., 679 F.2d 64 (5th Cir. 1982)
City OF Miami v. ST. JOE Paper Co., 364 So. 2d 439 (Fla. 1978)
S. Title Research Co. v. King, 186 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966)
City Nat'l Bank OF Miami v. Citibank, 373 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
Rudder v. Wise Cnty. Hous. & Redev. Auth., 441 U.S. 939 (U.S. 1979)
Thies v. Joint Bar Ass'n Grievance Comm. for the Second & Eleventh Jud. Districts, 441 U.S. 939 (U.S. 1979)
City OF Miami v. ST. JOE Paper Co., 347 So. 2d 622 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)

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