SHIRLEY N. KAYE, APPELLANT,
v.
LILLIAN B. BLOCK AND JACK JUSTICE, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1972-10-31
No. 72-121
Before BARKDULL, C. J., and CHARLES CARROLL and HAVER-FIELD, JJ.
268 So. 2d 188 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1972) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 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

In this breach of purchase-sale agreement dispute, the court affirmed the lower court's judgment finding that the seller-appellant Kaye frustrated a waterfront property transaction by refusing to cooperate with inspections and failing to propose price adjustments based on inspection results, entitling the buyer to recover her deposit and the broker to his commission despite the sale's failure.


Holding

The court held that the buyer Block is entitled to recover her deposit and the broker Justice is entitled to his commission despite the transaction's failure, because the seller Kaye's uncooperative conduct frustrated the sale and the broker had procured a customer ready, willing, and able to purchase according to the contract terms.


Headnotes

[1] A seller's actions that frustrate a real estate transaction may entitle the purchaser to recover their deposit.

[2] A broker is entitled to a commission when the transaction is defeated due to the seller's fault, even if the sale is not consummated.

Previewing 2 of 3 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

Key Quotes

“A meticulous examination of the record on appeal reveals that the transaction was frustrated by the actions of the plaintiff-seller Kaye. Plaintiff was not cooperative with the defendants in their efforts to inspect the seawall, the roof and the house for termites as required by the deposit receipt.”

Establishes the court's finding that the seller's conduct, not the buyer's, caused the transaction to fail

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Defendant Block agreed to purchase plaintiff Kaye's waterfront residence for $115,000 with an $11,500 deposit under a standard form agreement requirin…

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.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

In an action for breach of a purchase-sale agreement and a counter action for a broker’s commission, plaintiff-appellant Kaye, as seller, seeks review of an adverse final judgment entered by the court.

Defendant Block agreed to purchase plaintiff’s waterfront residence and a standard form deposit receipt, which called for a purchase price of $115,000 and a deposit of $11,500, was executed by the parties. The terms and conditions of the contract included the following:

“This offer to purchase is subject to competent inspections, at the purchaser’s expense, showing the premises to be free of termite infestation, the roof to be in leakproof condition, and the seawall to be in good condition. Should there be termite infestation, the roof not in leak-proof condition or the seawall not in good condition, seller agrees to correct such condition at his expense.”

Arrangements were made for the required termite, roof and seawall inspections but problems developed, particularly with the seawall inspection, that precluded the necessary information from being compiled. Witnesses at the trial testified that the divers sent to the subject residence could not perform the seawall inspection because they were refused entrance to the premises, the gates were locked and they were not given permission to enter the back yard.

When the roof was inspected the exact amount of damage could not be ascertained because tiles had to be removed and the interior structure of the roof examined. A figure was estimated for the cost of the repairs ranging from a low of $800 for cursory repairs to approximately $4,000 if a new roof was necessary. Plaintiff subsequently obtained her own report that indicated the roof needed repairs estimated in the amount of $660. The report acquired by plaintiff was delayed in reaching defendant’s attorney until after the proposed closing date.

The final report required by the deposit receipt indicated a positive termite inspection at the subject property with an estimated amount of $465 for eradication.

Plaintiff commenced this action by filing her complaint alleging that defendant Block, without cause or reason, refused to purchase the property after plaintiff performed all of the obligations required of her under the terms of the contract, and sought one-half of the deposit of Eleven Thousand *190Five Hundred Dollars paid in escrow under the terms of the agreement. Block filed her answer and a counterclaim seeking the return of her deposit, interest and costs. Defendant Justice was named as a party in the amended complaint, and he filed his answer and a counterclaim for his commission.

A meticulous examination of the record on appeal reveals that the transaction was frustrated by the actions of the plaintiff-seller Kaye. Plaintiff was not cooperative with the defendants in their efforts to inspect the seawall, the roof and the house for termites as required by the deposit receipt. She continued to thwart the closing by failing to give the purchaser a proposal for an allowance in the purchase price based upon the results of the three inspections contemplated by the deposit receipt. At the same time defendant Block, purchaser, and defendant Justice, broker, did all they could to effectuate and complete the sale. Under this set of circumstances the purchaser is entitled to recover the money she placed on deposit.

A broker must accomplish what he set out to perform to be entitled to his commission. Fenton v. Bancroft Hotel Associates, Inc., Fla.App. 1972, 265 So.2d 67. However, when the broker performs pursuant to his contract and procures a customer who is ready, willing and able to purchase according to the terms of the offer but the transaction is defeated because of some fault of the seller, the broker is entitled to his commission although the transaction is not consummated. Perper v. Edell, 1948, 160 Fla. 477, 35 So.2d 387; Willis v. Clark, Fla.App.1961, 135 So.2d 260; Melvin v. West, Fla.App. 1958, 107 So.2d 156.

The other issues raised by appellant have been reviewed and were found to be without merit. Accordingly, based on the above, the lower court’s final judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Miami Convalescent Home, Inc. v. Nat Gursten, 314 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See: Hart v. Pierce, 98 Fla.1087, 125 So. 243; Abel v. First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Manatee County, Fla.App.1967, 199 So. 2d 295; Kaye v. Block, Fla.App.1972, 268 So. 2d 188.…
  • Avellone v. Abdul R. Mehta and Eileen Mehta, 544 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
    …affirm. First, we hold that substantial competent, albeit disputed, evidence supports the trial court’s findings that the seller breached the contract and that the buyers did not prevent the seller’s compliance with the contract. See Kaye v. Block, 268 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); see also Reider v. P 48, Inc., 362 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. denied, 367 So. 2d 1126 (Fla.1979). Second, we find that the trial court properly denied the buyers’ claims for damages based on lost tax benefits. The la…
  • RAY v. Fam. Homes, Inc., 378 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Knowles v. Henderson, 22 So. 2d 384 (Fla.1945), and Kaye v. Block, 268 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 4 DCA 1972). McCORD, C. J., and ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr. and MELVIN, JJ., concur.…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw