ESIN DANIEL ABIA
v.
CITY OF OPA-LOCKA
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.
A municipality cannot invoke sovereign immunity to escape enforcement of express contractual obligations in a settlement agreement when it has accepted the benefits of that agreement, but sovereign immunity bars claims for damages outside the express terms of the settlement.
[1] A municipality that accepts the benefits of a settlement agreement may be estopped from later arguing that the agreement is unenforceable to avoid its burdens.
[2] Sovereign immunity bars breach of contract claims against a municipality absent an express, written contractual obligation.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Opa-Locka cannot take the benefit of the settlement agreement—the dismissal of a lawsuit—and then later argue that the same agreement is unenforceable.”
Court's rationale for applying estoppel against the municipality's invocation of sovereign immunity
Abia and the City of Opa-Locka settled Abia's wrongful termination lawsuit in 2012 based on an agreement for 'full reinstatement' of his employment. A…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Wrongful Termination cases and more on FLexlaw
Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed March 20, 2024. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D23-1228 Lower Tribunal No. 17-25973
________________
Esin Daniel Abia,
Appellant,
vs.
City of Opa-Locka,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Peter R. Lopez, Judge. James H. Greason, for appellant. Johnson, Anselmo, Murdoch, Burke, Piper & Hochman, P.A., and Jeffrey L. Hochman and Hudson C. Gill (Fort Lauderdale), for appellee. Before MILLER, LOBREE and BOKOR, JJ. BOKOR, J. Esin Daniel Abia appeals the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the City of Opa-Locka on sovereign immunity grounds. Distilling a long and muddled procedural history, Abia and Opa-Locka settled Abia’s wrongful termination lawsuit in 2012, based on an agreement for “full reinstatement of [Abia’s] employment” with Opa-Locka. The trial court correctly notes that, based on sovereign immunity principles, Abia can’t enforce implied rights or obligations absent from the contract. See Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Miami Dade Coll. v. Verdini, 339 So. 3d 413, 421 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (noting that sovereign immunity barred breach of contract claim absent “an express, written contractual obligation”). However, Opa-Locka cannot take the benefit of the settlement agreement—the dismissal of a lawsuit— and then later argue that the same agreement is unenforceable. See Pipeline Contractors, Inc. v. Keystone Airpark Auth., 276 So. 3d 436, 439 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) (“Because they accepted the benefits of the contract through payment from KAA, Pipeline and Hanover were properly estopped from raising the argument that the contract was void in an attempt to avoid the burdens of the contract embodied by KAA's claims against them.”). Therefore, to the extent that Abia argues that Opa-Locka breached the settlement agreement by failing to reinstate him to an equivalent position with the same salary and benefits, and seeks damages based on the difference between such salary and benefits promised and his actual salary and benefits post-reinstatement, such a claim is not barred by sovereign immunity. However, to the extent that Abia seeks damages for back pay for the time prior to reinstatement, such a claim would be barred as it is outside the express terms of the settlement agreement. See, e.g., Fla. Int’l Univ. Bd. of Trs. v. Alexandre, 365 So. 3d 436, 442 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) (reversing class certification and requiring dismissal where “the operative complaint fails to incorporate any document or writing containing an express promise for FIU . . . to provide the claimed services”). Accordingly, we affirm the portion of the trial court’s final summary judgment in favor of Opa-Locka to the extent that it bars Abia from seeking back pay prior to reinstatement but reverse to permit Abia’s claim for breach based on the claimed failure to honor the requirement of “full re-instatement of [Abia’s] employment.” Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (14 total)
-
Hernando Beach Marine Grp. v. Hernando Cnty. (Fla. 5th DCA 2024)…ating that there is no waiver of sovereign immunity “for claims in equity” and that the State enjoys “sovereign immunity from quasi-contractual claims such as unjust enrichment” (citations omitted)); Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Miami Dade Coll. v. Verdini, 339 So. 3d 413, 417 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (providing that a State entity’s entitlement to sovereign immunity “may properly be considered on a motion to dismiss” (citation omitted)); Vorbeck v. Betancourt, 107 So. 3d 1142, 1148 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (recognizing as well-…
-
Esin Daniel Abia v. City of Opa-Locka, 339 So. 3d 413 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024)…[Abia’s] employment” with Opa-Locka. The trial court correctly notes that, based on sovereign immunity principles, Abia can’t enforce implied rights or obligations absent from the contract. See Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Miami Dade Coll. v. Verdini, 339 So. 3d 413, 421 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (noting that sovereign immunity barred breach of contract claim absent “an express, written contractual obligation”). However, Opa-Locka cannot take the benefit of the settlement agreement—the dismissal of a lawsuit— and…
-
Heine v. Fla. Atl. Univ. Bd. of Trs., 360 So. 3d 412 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023)…a. 4th DCA 2016) (quoting Barbado v. Green & Murphy, P.A., 758 So. 2d 1173, 1174 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)). However, “[t]he issue of sovereign immunity may properly be considered on a motion to dismiss.” Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Miami Dade Coll. v. Verdini, 339 So. 3d 413, 417 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (citing Charity v. Bd. of Regents of the Div. of Univs. of the Fla. Dep’t of Educ., 698 So. 2d 907, 907 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)). Florida Cases Three opinions from other Florida appellate courts are relevant to the analysis of…
Previewing 3 of 14 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Esin Daniel Abia v. City of Opa-Locka, 339 So. 3d 413 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024)
- Fla. Int'l Univ. Bd. of Trs. v. Alexandre, 365 So. 3d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)
- Pipeline Contractors, Inc. v. Keystone Airpark Auth., 276 So. 3d 436 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)