BRANDSMART U.S.A. OF WEST PALM BEACH, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
DR LAKES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND JOSEPH M. DELLA RATTA, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 2005-05-18
No. 4D03-4907
STEVENSON and SHAHOOD, JJ„ concur.
901 So. 2d 1004 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2005) Caution
Cited by 13 cases

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Synopsis

BrandsMart appeals a trial court decision enforcing a settlement agreement in a specific performance dispute, arguing the court erred in finding a mutual mistake in the purchase price. The Fourth District affirms, holding that conflicting testimony at trial does not preclude a finding of mutual mistake when proven by clear and convincing evidence.


Holding

The court affirmed, holding that conflicting testimony from the parties does not preclude a finding of mutual mistake when one party proves by clear and convincing evidence what the parties actually agreed to. The trial court properly exercised its discretion in assessing witness credibility and could reform the written settlement to reflect the parties' true intent.


Headnotes

[1] A court of equity has the power to reform a written instrument where, due to a mutual mistake, the instrument as drawn does not accurately express the true intention or a…

[2] A mistake is mutual when the parties agree to one thing and then, due to either a scrivener’s error or inadvertence, express something different in the written instrument…

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Key Quotes

“A court of equity has the power to reform a written instrument where, due to a mutual mistake, the instrument as drawn does not accurately express the true intention or agreement of the parties to the instrument.”

Establishes the foundational legal principle governing reformation for mutual mistake

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Facts & Procedural History

BrandsMart and DR Lakes settled a specific performance lawsuit through mediation regarding a real estate purchase. The dispute centered on whether the…

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Opinion of the Court
GROSS, J.

GROSS, J.

This appeal arises out of a suit for specific performance. After mediation, the parties settled. The seller, appellee DR Lakes, Inc., moved to enforce the settlement agreement. Central to the motion was the seller’s claim that there was a clerical error in the purchase price that failed to recognize the parties’ mediation agreement that the buyer, appellant BrandsMart U.S.A., would not be entitled to a $600,000 reduction in the purchase price.

In an earlier appeal of this case, we held that the settlement privilege contained in section 44.102(3), Florida Statutes (2001), did not apply to a case where the issue was whether there had been a mutual mistake in a settlement agreement. See DR Lakes, Inc. v. Brandsmart U.S.A. ofWest Palm Beach, 819 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). We remanded the case for trial on the issue of mutual mistake. We observed that while it might “be difficult for seller to prove that this mistake was mutual, given the position of the buyer, seller should still have the opportunity to put on all of its evidence.” Id. at 974-75.

On remand, the circuit court presided over a non-jury trial, where each side presented' conflicting evidence of what occurred during mediation. Generally,- the seller’s fact witnesses testified that the parties agreed during mediation to accept the seller’s promise to conduct certain road construction, “in lieu of’ a $600,000 credit, which increased the purchase price to about $6.1 million; the buyer’s witnesses claimed that the parties, never agreed to waive the $600,000 contribution, and the purchase price remained at about $5.5 million.

The circuit judge ruled in favor of the seller:

Though the evidence was disputed, the Court finds that DR Lakes showed by clear and convincing evidence that the parties ágreed that it would receive credit for its $600,000.00 contribution to the construction of Executive Center Drive in return for its assumption of the Phase I construction obligation. That agreement was implicit in the incorporation of section 2.1 of the Purchase Agreement into the Stipulation, which noted that the purchase price gave BrandsMart a $600,000 credit towards the road construction, read in juxtaposition with the new requirement that DR Lakes construct or pay for construction of the road. To the extent the Stipulation was not explicit on that point, it represented a scrivener’s error in me-morialization of the parties’ agreement.

The parties agree on the law of mutual mistake. “ ‘A court of equity has the power to reform a written instrument where, due to a mutual mistake, the instrument as drawn does not accurately express the true intention or agreement of the parties to the instrument.’ ” USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Threadgill, 729 So. 2d 476, 478 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (quoting Providence Square Ass’n v. Biancardi, 507 So. 2d 1366, 1369 (Fla.1987)). “A mistake is mutual when the parties agree to one thing and then, due to either a scrivener’s error or inadvertence, express something different in the written instrument.” Circle Mortgage Corp. v. Kline, 645 So. 2d 75, 78 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Due to the strong presumption that a written agreement accurately expresses the parties’ intent, the party seeking reformation based on a mutual-mistake must prove its ease by clear and convincing evidence. See Resort of Indian Spring, Inc. v. Indian Spring Country Club, Inc., 747 So. 2d 974, 976-77 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).

The buyer argues that .the trial court’s findings of fact were not supported by competent substantial evidence. However, the seller’s witnesses testified to a version of the mediation agreement that supported the trial court’s . ruling. The weight to be given to the testimony turned on the credibility of the witnesses, a matter exclusively within the province of the trial court. See, e.g., id. at 977.

The parties’ conflicting stories at trial do not preclude a finding that a mutual mistake was established by clear and convincing evidence. In litigation, “the issue of mutual. mistake arises only when alleged by one party and denied by the other. Agreement on the matter would eliminate it as an issue to be tried.” Steffens v. Steffens, 422 So. 2d 963, 964 n. 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982) (emphasis in original).

Affirmed.

STEVENSON and SHAHOOD, JJ„ concur.


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Cited By

  • Goodall v. Whispering Woods Ctr., L.L.C., 990 So. 2d 695 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)
    …in v. Mich. Mut. Ins. Co., 948 So. 2d 692 (Fla.2006) (quoting Providence Square v. Biancardi, 507 So. 2d 1366, 1369 (Fla.1987)); Blumberg v. Am. Fire & Cas. Co., 51 So. 2d 182 (Fla.1951); Brandsmart. U.S.A. of W. Palm Beach, Inc. v. Dr. Lakes, Inc., 901 So. 2d 1004, 1005 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Threadgill, 729 So. 2d 476, 478 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Circle Mortgage Corp. v. Kline, 645 So. 2d 75, 77 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Malt v. R.J. Mueller Enters., Inc., 396 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Th…
  • L & H Constr. Co., Inc. v. Circle Redmont, Inc., 55 So. 3d 630 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)
    …resumption that a written agreement accurately expresses the parties’ intent, the party seeking reformation based on a mutual mistake must prove its case by clear and convincing evidence. BrandsMart U.S.A. of West Palm Beach, Inc. v. DR Lakes, Inc., 901 So. 2d 1004, 1006 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). Clearly, the final contract between L & H and Redmont was ambiguous. While the final February 26, 2004, proposal stated that Redmont was to “engineer, fabricate and install” the staircase and flooring system, Exhibit A to…
  • Plantation KEY Off. Park, LLLP v. Pass Int'l, Inc., 110 So. 3d 505 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)
    …presumption that a written agreement accurately expresses the parties’ intent, the party seeking reformation based on a mutual mistake must prove its case by clear and convincing evidence.” BrandsMart U.S.A. of W. Palm Beach, Inc. v. DR Lakes, Inc., 901 So. 2d 1004, 1006 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). However, a trial court may not weigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses in arriving at summary judgment; instead, the moving party must conclusively show the absence of any genuine issues of material fact.…

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