GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP., ET AL., APPELLANT,
v.
JENO F. PAULUCCI AND LOIS MAI PAULUCCI, APPELLEES
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The trial court erred in entering judgment for stipulated rental payments and in awarding attorney's fees and costs.
[1] A trial court has subject matter jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement.
[2] A party seeking damages for breach of a settlement agreement must prove all necessary conditions precedent.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe dispute involved property pollution and a settlement agreement requiring the appellant to remedy the pollution. After an alleged breach, the trial…
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PER CURIAM.
This cause was remanded to us for further consideration in light of the supreme court’s decision. Paulucci v. General Dynamics Corp., 842 So. 2d 797, (Fla.2003).
The facts upon which this action is based are more fully detailed in our original decision. General Dynamics Corp. v. Paulucci, 797 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). The dispute centers around the pollution of Appellees’ property by Appellant. After much litigation, the parties reached a written settlement agreement that required, among other things, Appellant to remedy the pollution to Appellees’ property. After an alleged breach of the settlement agreement, the trial court heard evidence and concluded that Appellant had breached the settlement agreement, and it awarded damages (measured by a stipulated sum) and attorney’s fees. On appeal from that order, we held that the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement. Paulucci 797 So. 2d at 21. We certified the question, however, to the supreme court. Alternatively, we held that, even if the trial court had jurisdiction over the subject matter, Appellees did not prove a necessary condition precedent to the award of damages. We also reversed the award of attorney’s fees and costs. Paulucci 797 So. 2d at 22-23.
The supreme court quashed our decision as it related to the jurisdictional issue, holding that the trial court did have jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement. The court declined, however, to address the issues of whether the trial court erred in awarding damages and attorney’s fees.
Based on our analysis in General Dynamics Corp. v. Paulucci 797 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001), we hold that the trial court erred in entering judgment for the stipulated rental payments and that the trial court erred in awarding to Appellees’ their attorney’s fees and costs in connection with the enforcement of the settlement agreement. The judgment of the trial court, therefore, is reversed.
REVERSED.
PETERSON, ORFINGER and TORPY, JJ., concur.
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Gen. Dynamics Corp. v. Jeno F. Paulucci and Lois Mae Paulucci, 914 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)…ttlement agreement by motion. The court declined to address the second part of our holding, however. Paulucci v. General Dynamics Corp., 842 So. 2d 797 (Fla.2003). Based on the mandate of the high court, we issued General Dynamics Corp. v. Paulucci, 848 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). Prior to the issuance of our mandate, however, the lower court entered the summary judgment in this independent action, from which the instant appeal was taken. The summary judgment was predicated in part upon the deposition te…
Authorities Cited
- Jeno F. Paulucci v. Gen. Dynamics Corp., 842 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 2003)
- Gen. Dynamics Corp. v. Jeno F. Paulucci and Lois Mai Paulucci, 797 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)