BAY LINCOLN-MERCURY-DODGE, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
TRANSOUTH MORTGAGE CORPORATION OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Bay Lincoln-Mercury-Dodge appeals a judgment awarding damages and attorney's fees to Transouth Mortgage Corporation arising from a retail installment contract dispute. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's interpretation of the assignment clause but reversed the award of attorney's fees, holding that the repurchase agreement portion of the contract contained no provision authorizing such fees.
The trial court properly interpreted the assignment clause. However, the award of attorney's fees to Transouth was improper because the repurchase agreement portion of the contract contained no provision authorizing attorney's fees, and the attorney's fee provision from the retail installment portion could not be extended to the repurchase obligation.
[1] Attorney's fee provisions in contracts must be strictly construed and each claim giving rise to a fee must be assessed individually.
[2] The right to attorney's fees under a contractual provision is limited by the specific terms of that provision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“attorney's fee provisions must be strictly construed, and each claim which purportedly gives rise to a fee should be assessed individually”
Establishes the governing standard for interpreting attorney's fees clauses in contracts
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBLMD and Transouth entered into a retail installment contract that included assignment and repurchase provisions. The contract contained separate atto…
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JOANOS, Judge.
Bay Lincoln-Mercury-Dodge, Inc. (BLMD) appeals the final judgment awarding damages and attorney’s fees to Tran-south Mortgage Corporation of Florida (Transouth). The issues raised concern (1) the trial court’s interpretation of a general clause in the assignment provisions of a retail installment contract, and (2) the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees to Tran-south, the prevailing party in the suit on the repurchase agreement. We affirm the trial court’s ruling with respect to the first issue, and reverse with respect to the second issue.
Under established principles of contract construction, attorney’s fee provisions must be strictly construed, and each claim which purportedly gives rise to a fee should be assessed individually. Keys Lobster v. Ocean Divers, 468 So. 2d 360, 363 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 480 So. 2d 1295 (Fla.1985). See also Salisbury v. Spiekogel, 451 So. 2d 974, 975 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). In Bowman v. Kingsland De velopment, Inc., 432 So. 2d 660, 664 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), the court noted:
The right to attorney’s fees under any contractual provision is limited by the terms of such provision. Attorney’s fees are not necessarily recoverable as to any and all litigation relating to a contract that provides for attorney’s fees.
The contract in this case provides for attorney’s fees in two separate instances. Attorney’s fees are recoverable by Tran-south from the buyer, in the event it incurs attorney’s fees due to the buyer’s default. Attorney’s fees are also recoverable by Transouth under the assignment portion of the contract, in the event Transouth suffered any loss by virtue of a claim the buyer could legitimately raise against the seller which shifted to Transouth as assignee. However, there is no provision for attorney’s fees under the repurchase portion of the contract. Therefore, in awarding an attorney’s fee to Transouth in this instance, the trial court apparently extended the attorney’s fee provision of the retail installment portion of the contract to provide an attorney’s fee under the assignment-repurchase portion of the contract. Since the repurchase agreement does not include a provision for attorney’s fees, the trial court’s application of the retail installment attorney’s fee provision to the seller’s repurchase obligation was improper. Accordingly, the award of attorney’s fees to Transouth is reversed. In all other respects, the final judgment appealed is affirmed.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
WIGGINTON and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.
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Fla. Pottery Stores OF Panama City, Inc. v. Am. Nat'l Bank, 578 So. 2d 801 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…See 11 C.J.S. Bills and Notes § 726(b)(6) (1938). In Florida, it is well established that contractual provisions relating to attorney’s fees are to be strictly construed. Bay Lincoln-Mercury-Dodge, Inc. v. Transouth Mortgage Corporation of Florida, 531 So. 2d 1027 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). In Bowman v. Kingsland Development, Inc., 432 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), the court interpreted an almost identical “costs of collection” provision in a promissory note. There, the payee brought suit on the note and recovere…
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Baker Protective Servs. v. FP Inc. & Fid. & Deposit Co. of Md., 659 So. 2d 1120 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…ve is only entitled to the attorney’s fees it expended in collecting monies due under the contract. Vistaco, Inc. v. Prestige Properties, Inc., 559 So. 2d 744, 744 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); cf. Bay Lincoln-Mercury-Dodge, Inc. v. Transouth Mortgage Corp., 531 So. 2d 1027, 1028 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (noting that “[a]ttorney’s fees are not necessarily recoverable as to any and all litigation relating to a contract that provides for attorney’s fees.”). Baker Protective is not entitled to any fees it incurred in defending…
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Vistaco, Inc. v. Prestige Props., Inc., 559 So. 2d 744 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)…CA 1985), review denied, 492 So. 2d 1335 (Fla.1986); Keys Lobster v. [*745] Ocean Divers, 468 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), petition for review denied, 480 So. 2d 1295 (Fla.1985); Bay Lincoln, Mercury, Dodge, Inc. v. Transouth Mortgage Corporation, 531 So. 2d 1027 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Schumacher v. Wellman, 415 So. 2d 120 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Weiner v. Tenenbaum, 452 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), petition for review dismissed, 458 So. 2d 274 (Fla.1984). The trial court also erred in refusing to award appell…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Flagship Nat'l Bank OF Miami v. Gray Distrib. Sys., Inc., 432 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Keys Lobster, Inc. v. Ocean Divers, Inc., 468 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Salisbury v. Spielvogel, 451 So. 2d 974 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)