CLUB EDEN ROC, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
TRIPMASTERS, INC., TRIPMASTERS TRAVEL, INC., AND NEIL ROTHENBERG, APPELLEES
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Club Eden Roc appeals a judgment finding it liable for breach of an alleged five-year lease agreement with Tripmasters, a tour operator specializing in Passover tours. The court reverses, holding that no binding five-year contract was formed because the parties' communications expressly contemplated execution of a formal agreement with mutually satisfactory terms.
No binding five-year contract was formed because the hotel's April 6, 1982 memorandum expressly conditioned any agreement on execution of a formal contract with mutually satisfactory terms, indicating the parties did not intend to be bound until a formal writing was executed. Tripmasters presented no evidence of damages to goodwill and reputation.
[1] A binding contract does not exist where the parties intend that no agreement will be effective until reduced to a formal writing and executed.
[2] A memorandum stating that terms are subject to a more formal agreement containing mutually satisfactory terms and conditions indicates that no binding contract exists unt…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Where the parties intend that there will be no binding contract until the negotiations are reduced to a formal writing, there is no contract until that time.”
Establishes the controlling legal principle that the parties' express reservation of the right to execute a formal agreement precludes formation of a binding contract.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTripmasters, a tour operator conducting Passover tours, hosted a 1982 tour at the Eden Roc Hotel. A dispute arose over the 1982 tour agreement, result…
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PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff/counter-defendant, Club Eden Roc, Inc., appeals from a final judgment entered after a non-jury trial, finding it liable on a counterclaim to defendants/counter-plaintiffs, Tripmasters, Inc. and Tripmasters Travel, Inc. (“Tripmas-ters”), for breach of a five-year lease agreement.
The main issue in this multi-faceted dispute is whether the parties entered into a five-year contract. A second question is whether Tripmasters proved that its goodwill and reputation had been damaged.
Tripmasters, a tour operator, specializes in conducting Passover tours to selected hotels. Club Eden Roc, Inc. (the “hotel”), owners of the Eden Roc Hotel, hosted Trip-masters’ 1982 tour. There was a dispute about the rights and obligations of the parties pursuant to a 1982 tour agreement, which led to a suit by the hotel and recovery against Tripmasters for a $61,286.55 indebtedness. Tripmasters counterclaimed, seeking (1) a judgment declaring “whether there is a legal, binding, contractual obligation between the parties wherein the Defendant is required to lease the Eden Roc Hotel facilities [for a five-year period] as set forth in the parties’ oral agreement, memorandum thereof or the letter of April 6, 1982,” and (2) damages, in excess of $300,000, to Tripmasters’ goodwill and business reputation arising from Club Eden Roc's failure to properly staff the hotel and provide services for guests during the 1982 tour. Tripmasters claims that the parties entered into a five-year oral lease agreement, the essential terms of which were set out in two documents. Reference is made to a four-page proposed contract for 1983-87, dated March 31, 1982, which was submitted to the hotel as an offer. The parties agreed that the hotel refused to sign the contract because it was dissatisfied with some of its terms.1 Tripmasters also relies on a memorandum from the hotel, dated April 6, 1982, which quotes room prices based on a 250 room tour package for 1983-87, “subject to entering into a more formal Agreement containing mutually satisfactory terms and conditions.”
The trial court entered a judgment for Tripmasters in the amount of $988,221.95, to be reduced by the amount of the hotel’s judgment against Tripmasters. That figure represented loss of profits for the 1983-87 Passover group tours, including a $500 deposit, dated March 31, 1982. Implicit in the damage award to Tripmasters is a finding that the parties entered into a five-year Passover lease agreement. No version of the evidence supports that finding.
Edward L. Nezelek, Inc. v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co., 383 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980), relied on by Tripmasters, is not supportive of its argument. A letter memorandum relied upon by the contractor in Nezelek was an unequivocal acceptance of a bid, contemplating the execution of a formal contract at some later date. In this case, Club Eden Roc’s memorandum was clear that no rights or obligations would arise between the parties until the execution of an agreement containing all the terms and conditions. Where the parties intend that there will be no binding contract until the negotiations are reduced to a formal writing, there is no contract until that time. Housing Authority of City of Fort Pierce v. Foster, 237 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970).
We need not belabor the second point as Tripmasters presented no evidence of damage to goodwill and reputation and the trial court, correctly, made no finding of such damage.
Reversed and remanded with instructions to enter judgment for appellant on the counterclaim.
. Attached to the contract was a |500 check upon which Tripmasters wrote "Deposits on Passover groups: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.” The hotel admitted to having accepted and cashed the check, either accidentally or as partial satisfaction of Tripmasters’ unpaid debt for the 1982 tour. The cashing of the check alone does nothing to cure the absence of a meeting of the minds as to material terms. Eden Roc’s $61,286.55 judgment should be reduced by the amount of the check.
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Smith v. Royal Auto. Grp., Inc., 675 So. 2d 144 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)…tation agreement before executing it, it would be impossible to say that Royal Group had assented to the agreement. We do not credit this argument because the change was favorable to Royal Group. . See also Club Eden Roc, Inc. v. Tripmasters, Inc., 471 So. 2d 1322, 1323-24 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (finding parties intended no rights or obligations would arise until execution of agreement), review denied, 482 So. 2d 350 (Fla.1986); Citizens Bank v. Harlie Lynch Constr. Co., 426 So. 2d 52, 54 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (fin…
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Am. Cap. Network & Robert Schlein v. Command Credit Corp., 707 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…al judgment. They filed no motion for rehearing. Where the parties intend that there will be no binding contract until the negotiations are reduced to a formal writing, there is no contract until that time. Club Eden Roc, Inc. v. Tripmasters, Inc., 471 So. 2d 1322, 1324 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Housing Auth. of City of Fort Pierce v. Foster, 237 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970). But that is not the situation here. The settlement letter stated that the parties “have settled” the action and the parties “shall execute”…
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Midtown Realty, Inc. v. Akhtar Hussain & Malico, Inc., 712 So. 2d 1249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…o. 2d 277, 280 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). Moreover, “[w]here the parties intend that there will be no binding contract until the negotiations are reduced to a formal writing, there is no contract until that time.” Club Eden Roc, Inc. v. Tripmasters, Inc., 471 So. 2d 1322, 1324 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). The question of whether the parties intended to form a binding contract is determined by examining the language of the [*1252] document in question and the surrounding circumstances. 1 Richakd A. Lord, Willi-ston on CONTRA…
Previewing 3 of 16 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- The Hous. Auth. OF the City OF Fort Pierce v. Foster, 237 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970)
- Edward L. Nezelek, Inc. v. S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 383 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)