AFFORDABLE HOMES, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
DEVIL'S RUN, LTD., APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1986-02-21
No. BF-333
ERVIN and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.
483 So. 2d 549 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1986) Caution
Cited by 2 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

Affordable Homes appealed a summary judgment dismissing its breach of contract claim against Devil's Run for failing to sell promised lots. The court reversed, holding that genuine factual disputes regarding estoppel and waiver precluded summary judgment.


Holding

Summary judgment was improper because genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether Affordable pleaded sufficient facts for estoppel, whether Devil's Run's oral agreement to extend time created an estoppel, and whether Devil's Run's failure to respond to Affordable's confirmation letter and subsequent sale of lots was reasonable.


Headnotes

[1] A party may state a claim for estoppel or waiver based on an oral modification of a contract, even if the statute of frauds would otherwise prevent enforcement of the ora…

[2] Summary judgment is improper when genuine issues of material fact remain for determination.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Nothing could be more well established than the proscription against the entry of a summary judgment when genuine issues of material fact remain for determination.”

Establishes the fundamental principle that summary judgment is improper when material facts are disputed.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Affordable Homes and Devil's Run had a contract for the sale of land. Devil's Run sold lots to others that it was allegedly contractually obligated to…

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

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
McCORD, GUYTE P., Jr. (Ret.), Associate Judge.

McCORD, GUYTE P., Jr. (Ret.), Associate Judge.

Affordable Homes, Inc. appeals from summary judgment on behalf of Devil’s Run, Ltd. in Affordable’s suit against it for breach of contract to sell land. We reverse.

This is not the first time these parties have been before this court on this contractual dispute. Briefly, Affordable alleged in its original complaint that Devil’s Run sold lots to others which it was contractually obligated to sell to Affordable. Devil’s Run countered that Affordable failed to comply with the time constraints established in the contract, to which Affordable responded that there had been an oral agreement to extend the time for performance. The lower court dismissed the complaint with prejudice, holding that the statute of frauds prevented such oral modification of the contract.

In Affordable Homes, Inc. v. Devil’s Run, Ltd., 408 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), we reversed, holding that, although the statute of frauds would prevent Affordable from establishing an orally modified contract, a separate theory of estoppel or waiver could be stated “if [Affordable] pleads that it detrimentally relied on an oral modification, such as an extension of the time of performance agreed to by [Affordable].” Affordable Homes at 680.

Affordable proceeded to file an amended complaint. With regard to the estoppel theory, it alleged that Devil’s Run orally agreed to extend the time for performance, that there was a specific understanding of continued “phased” closings with no provision for accelerated closings and that it forbore to arrange for immediate closing because of Devil’s Run’s representations. In its answer, Devil’s Run acknowledged the oral agreement but specifically denied the remaining allegations. It is apparent from the face of these pleadings that the facts alleged by Affordable to constitute estoppel were disputed by Devil’s Run. Nothing could be more well established than the proscription against the entry of a summary judgment when genuine issues of material fact remain for determination. O’Quinn v. Seibels, Bruce and Co., 447 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

We also note the presence in the record of a letter confirming the time extensions sent by Affordable to Devil’s Run after it was informed by a discharged employee that new management’s attitude was that it should close its lots or they would be sold to someone else. Devil’s Run did not reply, and sold the lots within a month of the time Affordable was told by the discharged employee of the indefinite acceleration. The lower court found in its order that this letter was inadequate to notify Devil’s Run of continued interest in the lots, and that any estoppel arising from the previous agreement thereupon ended. This is also a factual issue which remains to be determined, as is the reasonableness of Devil’s Run’s sale of the lots to others without responding to Affordable’s letter. We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

ERVIN and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Jennings v. State, 498 So. 2d 1373 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
    …language clearly reveals that only the penalty is enhanced, i.e., in terms of years. The degree of offense remains the same. See Cuthbert v. State, 459 So. 2d 1098 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), pet. for rev. denied 467 So. 2d 1000 (Fla.1985); Hall v. State, 483 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). However on its face, § 775.0845, Florida Statutes (1985), the mask statute, reveals language that distinguishes it from the habitual offender statute. The language of the mask statute requires that each offense, i.e., misdemeano…
  • Watson v. Truman Hahn, 664 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
    …llemi v. Rorabeck, 629 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Marsella v. Crapps, 529 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Steve Hull Chevrolet, Inc., 513 So. 2d 218 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Affordable Homes v. Devil’s Run, Ltd., 483 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). . Bell v. Bailey, 639 So. 2d 1063 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); McCone v. Butts, 616 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Edenfield v. Martin County, 583 So. 2d 1097 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), approved, 609 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 1992); Wharton v. The Fir…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw