AJH PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LTD., A UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED COMPANY, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
SUNTRUST BANK, A GEORGIA BANKING COMPANY, APPELLEE
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Appellants purchased condominium units in a development and deposited 20% of the purchase price with SunTrust Bank as escrow agent. When the developer went bankrupt and the project was cancelled, SunTrust had disbursed funds in excess of the required 10% to the developer. The appellants sued to recover the remaining deposits, and the trial court granted summary judgment for SunTrust. The appellate court reversed, finding genuine issues of material fact regarding whether SunTrust properly complied with the escrow agreement's preconditions for disbursement.
The court reversed the summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether SunTrust had properly disbursed the excess deposits in compliance with the escrow agreement. SunTrust failed to prove compliance with the escrow agreement's preconditions because the supporting documents it claimed supported the developer's requests were not part of the record before the trial court at summary judgment.
[1] Summary judgment is improper when genuine issues of material fact remain to be resolved.
[2] An escrow agreement may require specific written statements from a developer as a precondition for disbursement of funds in excess of a certain percentage of the purchase…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“upon written request to Escrow Agent by Developer, accompanied by a statement that the construction of improvements has begun [...] Escrow Agent shall pay out of the special escrow account to Developer any Deposits in excess of ten (10%) of the sales price set forth in any Contract”
Establishes the express preconditions in the escrow agreement that must be met before SunTrust could disburse funds in excess of 10%
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 2006-2007, Appellants purchased yet-to-be constructed condominium units in Hollywood Grande and deposited 20% of the purchase price with SunTrust a…
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AJH Property Investments Ltd., Ivor Barwin, Peter Bishton, Reena Bishton, Paul Briggs, Catherine Briggs, Shoshana Carson, Stephen Carson, Timothy Davis, Jacquelin Davis, Annette Di Cienzo, Mario Di Cienzo, Michael Di Cienzo, Jonathan Eastwood, Ezequiel Fagetti, James Hanson, Andrea Salmon, James Salmon, Brian Lee Southern, and Leon Woods (“Appellants”), appeal a final summary judgment in favor of SunTrust Bank (“SunTrust”). We reverse the final summary judgment to allow the trial court to resolve genuine issues of material fact which remain to be determined.
In 2006 and 2007, Appellants purchased yet-to-be constructed condominium units in the Hollywood Grande, a condominium resort hotel, being developed by Hollywood Grande, LLC. Appellants deposited with the escrow agent, SunTrust, twenty percent (20%) of the units’ purchase price, including funds for furniture packages. The terms of the escrow agreement governing SunTrust’s obligations as escrow agent appeared- in paragraph 5.4 of the escrow agreement between SunTrust and the developer, Hollywood Grande, LLC, which stated:
5.4 Deposits in Excess of Ten Percent. The portion of any Deposit in excess of ten percent (10%) of the sales price of a Unit shall be held in a special escrow account. If the Contract of any Buyer so provides, upon written request to Escrow Agent by Developer, accompanied by a statement that the construction of improvements has begun, Escrow Agent shall pay out of the special escrow account to Developer any Deposits in excess of ten (10%) of the sales price set forth in any Contract.
Escrow Agent will not be responsible as to the proper application of any funds *950released to Developer pursuant to this provision. Any request by Developer for disbursement of any escrowed funds pursuant hereto shall be accompanied by a written statement of Developer stating the following: (i) that construction has begun on the Condominium in which the Unit is located and (ii) that all funds released to Developer will be used solely for construction and development purposes. With respect to such funds, Escrow Agent will not be responsible as to the proper application of same by Developer, and Developer agrees to indemnify and hold Escrow Agent harmless from any and all liabilities which may be incurred by Escrow Agent, including attorneys’ fees, in connection with the disbursement of such funds to Developer.
The developer secured a two million dollar surety bond which was delivered to SunTrust. SunTrust then delivered to the developer the first ten percent (10%) of the purchase price deposits being held in escrow. From time to time thereafter the developer requested and SunTrust delivered monies from the excess ten percent (10%) deposits being held in escrow.
In 2008, the project was cancelled and the developer declared bankruptcy. Appellants requested the return of its deposit and received a refund equivalent to the first ten percent (10%) of its deposit pursuant to the two million dollar surety bond posted by Hollywood Grande, LLC. The remaining deposit funds were disbursed by SunTrust to the developer prior to cancellation of the project. On February 28, 2010, Appellants filed suit against Sun-Trust, seeking to recover the remainder of its deposit and damages on grounds of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and equitable accounting. SunTrust moved for summary judgment claiming that, pursuant to the escrow agreement, it was entitled to disburse the deposits in excess of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price upon written request of the developer, and, because it had complied with that requirement, it could not be held responsible for the disbursements. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Sun-Trust, and this appeal follows.
Appellants argue on appeal that the record reveals genuine issues of material fact which would prevent the granting of summary judgment on the issue of whether SunTrust’s disbursements under the agreement were proper. We agree and reverse.
We review the final summary judgment entered below de novo. Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So.2d 126 (Fla.2000); Daneri v. BCRE Brickell, LLC, 79 So.3d 91 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). In reviewing a final summary judgment, this Court must consider the evidence in the record, including any supporting affidavits or documents, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Daneri, 79 So.3d 91, 93.
Under the terms of the escrow agreement, a written request to the escrow agent by the developer, accompanied by a statement that the construction of improvements had begun on the condominium unit, was a precondition for the escrow agent to pay out of the escrow funds in excess of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price of the contract. The escrow agreement specifically states that the request by the developer for disbursement of escrowed funds “shall [have been] accompanied by a written statement from the developer stating that construction had begun on the unit and that all funds released would be used solely for construction and development purposes.” Paragraph 5.4 further states that the escrow agent will not be responsible for the developer’s use of the released funds as long as the escrow agent releases the funds to the developer *951“pursuant to this provision.” Therefore, only upon meeting the specific pre-condition requirements could SunTrust not be liable for the disbursements.
All parties admit the requests for draws in excess of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price by the developer did not include the required language of paragraph 5.4 of the agreement that construction had begun and that the released funds would be used for construction and development purposes. The argument of SunTrust, as presented below and on appeal, is that it did not have to comply because the developer had provided supporting documents, such as contracts, bills, or work orders, along with the requests for disbursement in excess of ten-percent (10%) and, therefore, by showing SunTrust that the money would be used for construction, the developer met the precondition to supply a statement that construction of improvements had begun. The problem is that this contention, when presented at summary judgment, was only an argument presented by counsel for SunTrust. The supporting documents alluded to were never of record before the trial court on summary judgment. Thus, the trial court never had the opportunity, based upon record evidence and not merely purported evidence, to determine whether there was a material breach of the escrow agreement or whether SunTrust had substantially complied.1 Based upon the absence of record evidence that would support the argument of SunTrust, we find that summary judgment was not proper as SunTrust did not prove compliance with the terms of the escrow agreement.
We therefore reverse the summary judgment on grounds that genuine issues of material fact remain as to whether Sun-Trust had properly disbursed funds in excess of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price according to the terms of the escrow agreement.2 See Daneri, 79 So.3d 91, 93 (holding that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether a condominium developer receiving a deposit of twenty percent (20%) of purchase price violated statute limiting use of money placed in escrow to protect purchasers under pre-construction contracts); First Sarasota Serv. Corp. v. Miller, 450 So.2d 875 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984) (reversing summary judgment as to duties under escrow agreement where question existed whether escrow agent disbursed deposit funds to developer in proper manner).
Reversed and remanded.
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Green Tree Servicing, LLC v. Milam, 177 So. 3d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)…5 Williston on Contracts, § 44:55 at 231. Indeed, Florida courts have sometimes evaluated compliance with conditions precedent by asking whether the alleged variation from the condition was material. See, e.g., AJH Prop. Invs. Ltd. v. SunTrust Bank, 89 So. 3d 948, 951 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (“Thus, the trial court never had the opportunity ... to determine whether there was a material breach of the escrow agreement or whether SunTrust had substantially complied.”); Starling v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 956 So…
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Moriber v. Dreiling, 194 So. 3d 369 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)…eaned from Ms. Moriber’s pleadings, affidavits, and memorandum in opposition to the Estate’s motion for summary judgment. We consider the facts in the light most favorable to Ms. Moriber, the non-moving party. AJH Prop. Invs., Ltd. v. SunTrust Bank, 89 So. 3d 948, 950 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). . In re Estate of Albert Dreiling, in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida, Case No. 99-6163; Sara Moriber, as Co-Trustee of the Albert Dreiling Marital Trust v. Leatrice Dreiling and Judy Lea…
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Belanger v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 140 So. 3d 598 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)….P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla.2000). In reviewing the order, we “must consider the evidence in the record, including any supporting affidavits or documents, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” AJH Prop. Invs. Ltd. v. SunTrust Bank, 89 So. 3d 948, 950 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012); see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c). Therefore, the issue before this Court is whether the trial court erred by finding that the record evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to Mr. Belanger, demonstrates that there…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen AT Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126 (Fla. 2000)
- Fadia Daneri v. Bcre Brickell, LLC, 79 So. 3d 91 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)
- Pirolo v. Century First Nat'l Bank of Pinellas Cnty., 450 So. 2d 875 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)