OPTI, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
SALES ENGINEERING CONCEPTS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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OPTI, Inc. appealed an order denying its motion to vacate a default judgment in a breach of contract case. The court reversed because the complaint failed to state a cause of action for judicial relief, since the contract explicitly required arbitration as the sole remedy for disputes, and OPTI did not allege the other party waived arbitration rights.
The court held that the default judgment must be vacated because the complaint failed to state a cause of action for judicial relief. A breach of contract complaint containing an arbitration provision entitles a party only to an order compelling arbitration, not a money judgment, unless waiver of arbitration is alleged.
[1] A default judgment should be set aside where the complaint on its face fails to state a cause of action.
[2] A complaint that seeks judicial relief contrary to an express contractual provision for arbitration fails to state a cause of action for judicial relief.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a default should be set aside where, as here, the complaint on its face fails to state a cause of action”
Establishes the controlling legal principle that default judgments must be vacated when the complaint is legally deficient
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOPTI and Sales Engineering Concepts entered into a contract containing an arbitration clause providing that any disputes or breaches would be resolved…
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FARMER, Judge.
We have before us an order refusing to vacate a judgment by default based on a complaint that explicitly fails to state a cause of action for judicial relief for breach of contract. The order is therefore contrary to Lee & Sakahara Associates v. Boykin Management Company, 678 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), where we held that “a default should be set aside where, as here, the complaint on its face fails to state a cause of action.” 678 So. 2d at 396; see also Becerra v. Equity Imports, Inc., 551 So. 2d 486, 488-489 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (default admits only well pleaded allegations of fact and acquiesces in relief); Board of Regents v. Stinson-Head, Inc., 504 So. 2d 1374 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987) (upon default, party seeking affirmative relief may not be granted relief that is not supported by the pleadings or by substantive law applicable to the pleadings).
In this case the complaint alleged a contract between the parties, a copy of which was attached to the pleading, and a breach. The attached contract contained a provision that the sole remedy for breach would be by arbitration in California.1 The complaint did not allege that the breaching party had waived or refused to arbitrate, but instead sought a judicial remedy by money judgment. Plaintiffs prayer for a money judgment was thus repugnant to the specific allegations of the contractual provisions, and therefore the pleading was a nullity. Harry Pepper & Assoc., Inc. v. Lasseter, 247 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 3rd DCA), cert. den., 252 So. 2d 797 (Fla.1971); Harry P. Trawick, Jr., Florida Pleading and Practice, § 6-7, at 84-85 (1996 ed.). The complaint failed on its face to state a cause of action for any judicial relief, other than to compel arbitration. See Board of Regents v. Stinson-Head, Inc., 504 So. 2d 1374 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987) (breach of contract containing arbitration provision entitles party only to order compelling arbitration).
We therefore reverse the order denying the motion to vacate the default judgment and remand with instructions to vacate.the money judgment and enter an order compelling arbitration.
REVERSED.
POLEN, J., concur. SHAHOOD, J., concurs in result only.
. The arbitration provision says:
"At the option of either party, except as otherwise expressly agreed herein, any dispute, controversy or differences which may arise out of, or in relation to or in connection with this Agreement or with the interpretation of any part hereof, or for any breach, shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association.... The parties agree that such arbitration shall be the sole method of settling any dispute, controversy, or difference which may arise out of or in relation to or in connection with this Agreement or with the interpretation of any pert thereof or for any breach hereof.”
In order to state a cause of action for judicial relief under this contract, the plaintiff would have to allege that the other party had waived the entitlement to arbitration. No such allegation appears in the complaint in this case.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Bland v. Green Acres Grp., L.L.C., 12 So. 3d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…they are trying to settle. Nothing in the Complaint says anything about waiving arbitration. There are no allegations about any waiver, no demand for such relief. Our decision on this identical issue in Opti Inc. v. Sales Engineering Concepts Inc., 701 So. 2d 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), is therefore controlling. In deciding that under a default a similar Contract actually required arbitration and did not admit liability in the lawsuit, we said: “In this case the complaint alleged a contract between the parties…1 / 2
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Rhodes v. O. Turner & Co., LLC, 117 So. 3d 872 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…quity Imports, Inc., 551 So. 2d 486, 488 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (“Failure to state a cause of action, unlike formal or technical deficiencies, is a fatal pleading deficiency not curable by a default judgment.”); Opti, Inc. v. Sales Eng’g Concepts, Inc., 701 So. 2d 1234, 1235 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (complaint which failed to state a cause of action for any judicial relief other than to compel arbitration was a nullity for entering a monetary judgment, thus the default final judgment was reversed). Confining ourselves…
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Bojadzijev v. Roanoke Tech. Corp., 997 So. 2d 1251 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)…rdingly, we affirm the entry of the default final judgment. AFFIRMED. GRIFFIN and LAWSON, JJ., concur. . See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.540(b). . Notably, the instant case was decided after Seifert. Compare Opti, Inc. v. Sales Engineering Concepts, Inc., 701 So. 2d 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). . As in Latin American Cafeteria, Inc. v. Zales Meats Distributors, Inc., 921 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006), appellant had timely notice of the complaint, the clerk's default, the motion seeking entry of final judgment, and the…
Authorities Cited
- Harry Pepper & Assocs., Inc. v. Harley O. Al Lasseter, Sr., 247 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971)
- Becerra v. Equity Imports, Inc., 551 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- Bd. OF Regents of the State of Fla. v. Stinson-Head, Inc., 504 So. 2d 1374 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
- Staats v. Adams, 252 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 1971)
- Harry Pepper & Assocs., Inc. v. Harley O. "Al" Lasseter, Sr., 252 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 1971)
- LEE & Sakahara Assocs. v. Boykin Mgmt. Co., 678 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)