GULFSTAR YACHT SALES, INC., APPELLANT/CROSS APPELLEE,
v.
JAMES BISSELL, APPELLEE/CROSS APPELLANT
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The court affirmed the trial court's denial of involuntary dismissal in a broker's commission dispute but reversed the denial of attorney's fees under Florida's wage statute, holding that commissions qualify as wages for purposes of fee-shifting.
A broker who establishes he was the procuring cause of a yacht sale is entitled to attorney's fees under Florida Statutes section 448.08 because commissions constitute wages.
[1] Commissions earned by a broker constitute wages within the meaning of Florida Statutes section 448.08, entitling a prevailing party to recover attorney's fees in an actio…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBissell, a broker, sued Gulfstar Yacht Sales for unpaid commissions on a yacht sale. The trial court denied his motion for involuntary dismissal and a…
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PER CURIAM.
By an appeal and cross-appeal we are asked to decide whether the trial court erred by refusing to grant a motion for involuntary dismissal in a nonjury trial and by declining to award attorney’s fees. We affirm in part and reverse in part. Whether the court should have granted an involuntary dismissal depended on whether the plaintiff/appellee established that, as a broker, he was the procuring cause in the sale of a yacht. We have carefully reviewed the record and are satisfied that the plaintiff proved a prima facie case sufficient to withstand the motion for involuntary dismissal.
We turn then to the question of attorney’s fees. The plaintiff sought attorney’s fees pursuant to section 448.08, Florida Statutes (1985), which provides: “The court may award to the prevailing party in an action for unpaid wages costs of the action and a reasonable attorney’s fee.” Here, as in Gulf Solar, Inc. v. Westfall, 447 So. 2d 363 (Fla.2d DCA 1984), the trial court denied attorney’s fees on the basis that commissions are not wages. We adopt the rationale of our sister court and reverse the denial of attorney’s fees on the authority of Gulf Solar, supra.
Accordingly, the judgment on appeal is
AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART.
ANSTEAD and HURLEY, JJ., and BARKETT, ROSEMARY, Associate Judge, concur.
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Citator
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Coleman v. City OF Hialeah, 525 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…8 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980) (certiorari review of county manager’s dismissal of county employee; employee sought reinstatement and back pay). . Gulf Solar, Inc. v. Westfall, 447 So. 2d 363, 366-67 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Gulfstar Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Bissell, 487 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986) (broker’s commission action). . Community Design Corp. v. Antonell, 459 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), rev. denied, 469 So. 2d 748 (Fla.1985). . Ferry v. XRG Int'l, Inc., 492 So. 2d 1101 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). . § 448.07(l)(c),…
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Ferry v. XRG Int'l, Inc., 492 So. 2d 1101 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…ection 443.-036(31)(a) and Black’s Law Dictionary. Community Design Corporation v. Antonell, 459 So. 2d 343, 346 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), used the same two definitions in finding that a bonus constituted “wages.” In Gulfstar Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Bissell, 487 So. 2d 31, 32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), this court said: We turn then to the question of attorney’s fees. The plaintiff sought attorney’s fees pursuant to section 448.08, Florida Statutes (1985), which provides: “The court may award to the prevailing party in an…
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Miller v. Perez, 524 So. 2d 1084 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)…the check could not constitute a subsequent accord and satisfaction of the December agreement. We also affirm the trial court’s denial of Perez’s claim for attorney’s fees. Perez has misplaced his reliance on Gulfstar Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Bissell, 487 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). In Bissell, the employee was paid a salary plus commission. Here Perez performed his services as an independent contractor. See Caldwell-Davis Construction Co. v. Hoover, 461 So. 2d 973 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). AFFIRMED. GUNTHER, J…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gulf Solar, Inc. v. Westfall, 447 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)