HOWARD D. ZIPPER AND SUSAN B. ZIPPER, APPELLANTS,
v.
AFFORDABLE HOMES, INC., APPELLEES
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The court held that while the contract was breached, the damages awarded were improperly calculated and must be reconsidered.
Appellants (Zippers) appealed a final judgment finding they breached a real estate sales contract and awarding damages, pre-judgment interest, loan in…
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JOANOS, Judge.
The Zippers appeal from a final judgment in which they were found to have breached a real estate sales contract. They contend that the trial court erred in finding a breach had occurred, awarding damages of the difference between the selling price of the real estate on the date of breach and the selling price on the date the property was sold to another party, including in the damages an award of pre-judgment interest and one-half of the interest on the construction loan from the date of breach to the date of sale, and awarding attorney’s fees of $9,600.00. We find no error in the determination that the contract had been breached, but agree that the damages were improperly calculated.
There is substantial competent evidence to support the trial court’s determination that the Zippers breached the sales contract. The measure of damages is the difference between the price the buyer agreed to pay for the property and the fair market value on the date of the breach. Frank Silvestri, Inc. v. Hilltop Developers, 418 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). As noted in Frank Silvestri, Inc., additional damages must be alleged and proved to have been contemplated by the parties and a natural and proximate result of the breach. We, therefore, reverse the award of damages and remand for reconsideration in accordance with this opinion.
Consequently, the award of attorney’s fees must be recalculated to reflect the trial court’s redetermination of damages.
We affirm the portion of the final judgment in which the trial court determined that the Zippers had breached the contract. The damages portion and the award of attorney’s fees are reversed and remanded for disposition consistent with this opinion.
NIMMONS and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.
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Blue Lakes Apts., Ltd. v. George Gowing, Inc., 464 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)…luded “loss of [the buyer’s] bargain, which is the difference between the value of the property [at the time of breach] and the contract price.” Wolofsky v. Behrman, 454 So. 2d 614, 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); see also Zipper v. Affordable Homes, Inc., 461 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Frank Silvestri, Inc. v. Hilltop Developers, Inc., 418 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). The trial court’s award of $6,000 compensatory damages is substantiated by evidence that, at the time of the seller’s repudiation, comparabl…
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Buschman v. B.G. Clark and Sharon Clark, 583 So. 2d 799 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…o the mortgage payments, insurance premiums, and associations dues paid subsequent to appellant’s failure to purchase the property as required by the contract. We agree and reverse the trial court’s final order. In Zipper v. Affordable Homes, Inc., 461 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), rev. dismissed, 469 So. 2d 748 (Fla.1985), we held that the measure of damages for breach of a real estate sales contract is the difference between the contract sales price and the fair market value of the property on the date o…
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Rocha v. Wolfson, 612 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)…the plaintiff/seller was supported by substantial competent evidence adduced at trial, and, consequently, no error appears in the award of such damages. See Bushman v. Clark, 583 So. 2d 799, 800 (Fla. 1st DCA1991); Zipper v. Affordable Homes, Inc., 461 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 1st DCA1984), rev. dismissed, 469 So. 2d 748 (Fla.1985); Popwell v. Abel, 226 So. 2d 418, 422 (Fla. 4th DCA1969). Affirmed.…
Authorities Cited
- Frank Silvestri, Inc. v. Hilltop Developers, Inc., 418 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)