T.J. CUNNINGHAM, APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
M.D. KOON, AND HOWARD MILLER, APPELLEES/CROSS-APPELLANTS
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant was sued for legal malpractice. Only one point raised by appellant has merit. Central to the plaintiffs theory was that appellant drafted a note which violated the criminal usury statute, section 687.071, Florida Statutes (1999). Whether the transaction was criminally usurious was a question of fact to be decided by the jury. The charge to the jury on criminal usury was deficient, in that it allowed a finding of criminal usury if the plaintiff/clients “intended to get more than twenty-five percent per year in interest” on the loan in question. Section 687.071(2) makes it a second degree misdemeanor to “willfully and knowingly charge, take, or receive interest ... at a rate exceeding 25 percent per annum but not in excess of 45 percent per annum, or the equivalent rate for a longer or shorter period of time, whether directly or indirectly.” The charge to the jury devalued and minimized the state of mind requirement imposed by the statute. See Jersey Palm-Gross, Inc. v. Paper, 658 So. 2d 531 (Fla.1995).
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
GUNTHER, FARMER and GROSS, JJ., concur.
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Fredette v. State, 786 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…included kissing or fondling a woman’s breasts, and was not limited to situations involving sexual battery. Id. at 1069. If sexual contact includes fondling a woman’s breasts, then it also includes touching a child’s vaginal area. State v. Milanes, 762 So. 2d 572, 573 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)(“victim injury points [*28] can be assessed when the accused is adjudicated guilty of fondling the victim”).2 AFFIRMED. THOMPSON, C.J., HARRIS and SAWAYA, JJ., concur. . § 800.04(1), Fla. Stat. (1997). . Even if one assu…
Authorities Cited
- Jersey Palm-Gross, Inc. v. Paper, 658 So. 2d 531 (Fla. 1995)