HERMAN F. SMITH AND MYRTLE A. SMITH, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
AUTO OWNERS INSURANCE CO., A FOREIGN CORPORATION AUTHORIZED TO DO BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1985-01-24
No. 84-73
DAUKSCH and FRANK D. UP-CHURCH, Jr., JJ., concur.
462 So. 2d 599 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1985) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The court reversed summary judgment for an insurance surety on a mobile home dealer bond, holding that the bond's coverage is not limited to sales at the specific location listed in the dealer's license certificate. The decision protects retail customers who purchased mobile homes from unlicensed locations by broadly interpreting the surety bond statute's consumer protection purpose.


Holding

The surety bond under § 320.77(14)(a) is not geographically limited to the location specified in the license certificate. The bond protects retail customers against conduct by the dealer that violates Florida's mobile home dealer regulations, including unlicensed sales at locations other than the licensed address. The plain statutory language does not restrict coverage to specific locations.


Headnotes

[1] A surety bond issued to a mobile home dealer protects any retail customer who suffers a loss as a result of the dealer's violation of statutory conditions, regardless of…

[2] A mobile home dealer's license certificate restricts the licensee to conducting business at the location specified therein.

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Key Quotes

“The bond shall be to the department and in favor of any retail customer who shall suffer any loss as a result of any violation of the conditions hereinabove contained”

The statutory language of § 320.77(14)(a) establishing broad coverage for retail customers based on dealer violations, with no geographic limitation mentioned

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Facts & Procedural History

Auto Owners Insurance Co. issued a license and permit bond for Florida Investors Unlimited, Inc. (FIU), a mobile home dealer licensed to conduct busin…

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Opinion of the Court
COBB, Chief Judge.

COBB, Chief Judge.

The trial court herein granted a summary judgment in favor of a surety, Auto Owners Insurance Co., which had issued a license and permit bond to protect retail customers dealing with a mobile home dealer, Florida Investors Unlimited, Inc. (FIU), and against the purchasers of a mobile home, the Smiths. The basis for the judgment excluding coverage was that the surety’s principal (FIU) was permitted under its license certificate to conduct business at a specific location in Jacksonville, Florida, whereas the sales transaction involving the Smiths occurred in Orange County, Florida. The trial court construed section 320.-77(14)(a), Florida Statutes (1981), to provide protection to retail customers only on sales that occur at geographical places as stated in the mobile home dealer’s license certificate. That section states:

(a) Before any license shall be issued or renewed, the applicant shall deliver to the department a good and sufficient surety bond, executed by the applicant as principal and by a surety company qualified to do business in the state as surety. The bond shall be in a form to be approved by the department and shall be conditioned upon the dealer’s complying with the conditions of any written contract made by him in connection with the sale or exchange of any mobile home or recreational vehicle and his not violating any of the provisions of Chapter 319 or Chapter 320 in the conduct of the business for which he is licensed. The bond shall be to the department and in favor of any retail customer who shall suffer any loss as a result of any violation of the conditions hereinabove contained....

The appellant argues that there is no language in this subsection that requires that a sale take place at a specific location, and that the statutory language refers to “any retail customer who shall suffer any loss as a result of any violation.” Appellant contends that the thrust of the entire provision is directed toward the conduct of the dealer and the protection of his customer, not to the location of the sale.

The appellee, on the other hand, argues that subsection (6) of section 320.77 provides that a license certificate issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles entitles the licensee to con duct business at the location set forth in the license, and that subsection (7) requires a supplemental license for a licensee to operate an additional place of business. The appellee points to the language in subsection (14)(a) which refers to violations by the dealer “in the conduct of the business for which he is licensed,” and argues that the business for which its principal, FIU, was licensed was the sale of mobile homes at 1101 Phillips Highway, Jacksonville, Florida.

The appellee s argument is specious, and the trial court’s construction of section 320.77(14)(a) violates the policy of consumer protection clearly underlying the statute. Nothing in subsection (14)(a) refers to the place of sale. The plain meaning of the statute is that the bond protects a retail customer against conduct by a dealer which is violative of the provisions of Chapter 320. The sale of a mobile home in Orange County by FIU contrary to the license requirements of subsections (6) and (7), as cited by the appellee, is such a violation. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

DAUKSCH and FRANK D. UP-CHURCH, Jr., JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • United Pac. Ins. Co. v. Berryhill, 620 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
    …eneral car-buying public in this state, and it specifically covers conduct which violates chapters 319 and 320. Interstate Securities Co. v. Hamrick’s Auto Sales, Inc., 238 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970). See also Smith v. Auto Owners Insurance Co., 462 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985) (surety bond provision required for mobile home dealer protects a retail customer against conduct by a dealer which violates chapters 319 or 320). Its language is not limited to direct purchasers from a dealer. Rather, it require…
  • Dealers Acceptance Corp. v. United Pac. Ins. Co., 763 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
    …duct of the licensed motor vehicle dealer. See United Pacific Ins. Co. v. Berryhill, 620 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (citing Interstate Sec. Co. v. Hamrick’s Auto Sales, Inc., 238 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970) and Smith v. Auto Owners Ins. Co., 462 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)). Section 320.27(10) provides that the bond shall be “in favor of any person in a retail or wholesale transaction who shall suffer any loss as a result of any violation of the conditions ...” described in the statute. It is a pr…

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