VERLA AND LAMAR MAYO, APPELLANTS,
v.
BOB ALLEN, EDDA ALLEN, AND R & E ALLEN PROPERTIES, INC. D/B/A SPORTSMAN'S LODGE/MARINA AND RESTAURANT, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2008-02-11
No. 1D06-4514
VAN NORTWICK, LEWIS, and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.
973 So. 2d 1257 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 11 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Mayos appealed a trial court judgment in favor of the Allens, challenging findings that no conversion occurred regarding an RV, down payment, repairs, and personal belongings. The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the Mayos failed to establish conversion because they lacked ownership of the RV (which remained titled to Mr. Allen), defaulted on the sales agreement permitting repossession, and failed to make proper demand for return of the personal belongings.


Holding

The court affirmed the trial court's judgment on all issues. Regarding the RV, no conversion occurred because the Mayos lacked ownership (title remained with Mr. Allen), they defaulted under the sales agreement giving Mr. Allen a right to repossess, and they failed to make a proper demand for return. Regarding personal belongings, the Mayos failed to establish conversion through competent evidence and similarly failed to make a proper demand.


Headnotes

[1] A conversion is an unauthorized act that deprives another of their property permanently or for an indefinite time.

[2] Demand and refusal are not always necessary to prove conversion if the defendant's actions themselves constitute conversion.

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Key Quotes

“a conversion is an unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time”

Establishes the legal definition of conversion that the court applies to evaluate the Mayos' claims.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Mayos purchased an Overland RV from Mr. Allen under a sales agreement requiring periodic payments. The Mayos defaulted on the payments due under t…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We grant the appellees’ motion for rehearing, withdraw our opinion filed on August 23, 2007, and substitute the following opinion in its place.

The appellants, Verla and Lamar Mayo (the Mayos), appeal the trial court’s final judgment in favor of the appellees, Bob and Edda Allen and R & E Allen Properties, Inc. Of the Mayos’ seven issues on appeal, we will only address the Mayos’ argument that the trial court erred in finding that Mr. Allen did not commit conversion. We disagree and affirm on all issues.

It is well settled that a conversion is an unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time. See Star Fruit Co. v. Eagle Lake Growers, Inc., 160 Fla. 130, 33 So. 2d 858 (1948); see also Gen. Fin. Corp. of Jacksonville v. Sexton, 155 So. 2d 159 (Fla. 1st DCA 1963). Conversion may be demonstrated by a plaintiffs demand and a defendant’s refusal. See Goodrich v. Malovmey, 157 So. 2d 829, 832 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963) (“The purpose of proving a demand for property by a plaintiff and a refusal by a defendant to return it in an action for conversion is to show the conversion. The generally accepted rule is that demand and refusal are unnecessary where the act complained of amounts to a conversion regardless of whether a demand is made.”).

The Mayos argue that Mr. Allen committed conversion by keeping the Overland RV, the downpayment, the personal belongings, and the value of repairs to the Overland RV. With respect to the down-payment and the value of repairs, those claims were not raised by the Mayos in their complaint and will not be addressed on appeal. See Mapoles v. Mapoles, 332 So. 2d 373 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976) (holding that issues not raised in the pleadings may not be addressed on appeal).

With respect to the Overland RV, the trial court found that the Mayos defaulted under the terms of the sales agreement when they failed to make the payments due. The trial court also found that Mr. Allen had the right to repossess the Overland RV upon the Mayos’ default on the sales agreement. These findings are supported by competent, substantial evidence. The Overland RV was not the Mayos’ property. The Mayos had possession of the Overland RV only as long as they made the payments due under the sales agreement. It is undisputed that the Mayos failed to make the payments due and defaulted under the terms of the sales agreement. It is also undisputed that the title to the Overland RV was in Mr. Allen’s, not the Mayos’, name. Additionally, even if they were somehow entitled to possession of the Overland RV, the Mayos did not demand its return or demonstrate that such a demand would have been futile. The “demand letter” referred to by the Mayos in their complaint and on appeal was not a demand letter, but rather a letter attempting to negotiate a settlement with Mr. Allen for monetary damages, not for the return of the Overland RV.

With respect to the personal belongings, the trial court found that the Mayos did not demonstrate that Mr. Allen committed conversion. This finding is supported by competent, substantial evidence. Although the Mayos testified that Mr. Allen kept the personal belongings, Mr. Allen testified that he did not. The Mayos presented no other evidence to prove that Mr. Allen had kept the personal belongings. Additionally, even if Mr. Allen had kept the personal belongings as alleged, the Mayos did not demand their return or demonstrate that such a demand would have been futile. As stated above, the Mayos’ letter was not a demand letter, but rather a letter attempting to negotiate a settlement, not for the return of the personal belongings.

AFFIRMED on all issues.

VAN NORTWICK, LEWIS, and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Un2jc AIR 1, LLC v. Whittington, 324 So. 3d 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021)
    …of the property[.]” Seibel v. Soc’y Lease, Inc., 969 F. Supp. 713, 718 (M.D. Fla. 1997) (quoting Dairy 6 Farm Leasing Co. v. Haas Livestock Selling Agency, Inc., 458 N.W. 2d 417, 419 (Minn. App. 1990)). Appellee relies on Mayo v. Allen, 973 So. 2d 1257 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) as supporting the trial court’s decision in this case. In Mayo, the seller of an RV repossessed the vehicle after the purchaser defaulted. When the purchasers sued the seller for conversion for the value of personal belongi…
  • Spradley v. Spradley, 213 So. 3d 1042 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)
    …ve the person entitled to possession of the property, which [intent] may be, but is not always, shown by demand and refusal.’ ” (quoting Senfeld v. Bank of Nova Scotia Tr. Co. (Cayman) Ltd., 450 So. 2d 1157, 1161 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984))); Mayo v. Allen, 973 So. 2d 1257, 1259 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008); Bookworld Trade, Inc. v. Daughters of St. Paul, Inc., 532 F. Supp. 2d 1350, 1363 (M.D. Fla. 2007) (applying Florida law). Here, accepting the complaint’s allegations as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor…
  • JOE Nagy Towing, Inc. v. Lawless, 101 So. 3d 868 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)
    …ight of dominion and control of the owner of the property”); Star Fruit Co. v. Eagle Lake Growers, 160 Fla. 130, 33 So. 2d 858, 860 (1948) (“the wrongful deprivation of a person of property to the possession of which he is entitled”); Mayo v. Allen, 973 So. 2d 1257, 1258 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (“an unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time”). It is thus neither aimed at, nor would its continued enforcement have any conceivable impact upon, interstate trucking co…

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