W. GEORGE KENNEDY ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
GEORGE CULLY REAL ESTATE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1976-08-03
No. 75-1452
Before PEARSON and NATHAN, JJ., and SACK, MARTIN, Associate Judge.
336 So. 2d 484 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 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

This case involves an appeal from a retrial of damages after a previous remand. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding that the trial court followed the remand instructions and properly assessed damages for lost brokerage commissions.


Holding

Yes, the trial court followed the remand instructions and its findings were supported by the record. The plaintiff's status as a cooperating broker did not diminish the damages recoverable for lost commissions, and interest was properly allowed on the unliquidated tort claim because the damages were fixed as of the date of the breach.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's findings of fact are presumed to be supported by the record when the appellate court reviews them.

[2] A statement in a trial court's findings of fact that is not essential to the decision may be considered surplusage and harmless error if incorrect.

Previewing 2 of 5 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

““. . . with directions to hold a new evidentiary hearing on the issue of damages at which time it will be encumbent upon the plaintiff to prove the amount of his damages through competent testimony as to what a broker would receive normally on a sale comparable to the sale involved in the instant case and in addition, what amount of commission the Davis Estate has paid in the past on comparable land sales.””

This quote details the specific instructions given by the appellate court on remand regarding the proof of damages.

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

The plaintiff, a real estate broker, sued for interference with a business relationship. The appellate court had previously remanded the case for a ne…

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.

The defendants appeal from a final judgment entered by the trial court after a retrial of the issue of damages upon remand of this cause. See Kennedy v. George Cully Real Estate, Inc., Fla.App.1974, 296 So. 2d 551. Four points are urged. The first two points claim the court failed to follow the directions of this court on remand, and the third and fourth points claim the court improperly assessed the amount of damages under the rules applicable to the cause. This court remanded the case:

“ . . . with directions to hold a new evidentiary hearing on the issue of damages at which time it will be encumbent upon the plaintiff to prove the amount of his damages through competent testimony as to what a broker would receive normally on a sale comparable to the sale involved in the instant case and in addition, what amount of commission the Davis Estate has paid in the past on comparable land sales.”

After trial on the issue of damages, the court made the following findings of fact:

**

“1. In accordance with custom prevailing in this community a broker would normally receive a commission of ten (10%) per cent of the purchase price on a sale comparable to the sale involved in the instant case. The subject property was sold for a purchase price of $1,350,-000. Thus, under normal circumstances, the brokerage fee in such a case would be $135,000.

“2. In some instances a departure from the norm does occur wherein, after negotiations, a broker accepts a lesser' sum. However, this record supports the conclusion that Defendants by their acts in interfering with Plaintiff’s advantageous business relationship with the Estate of Arthur Vining Davis precluded the possibility of such negotiations taking place, and Plaintiff never agreed to accept a lesser sum.

“3. With specific regard to the commissions paid by the Davis Estate in the past on comparable land sales, it is found that there were no other sales of comparable value. However, the Court finds that in the vast number of cases involv ing the sale of unimproved property, the Davis Estate in fact paid a commission of ten (10%) per cent of the purchase price.”

* * * * * *

Having examined the record in the light of appellants’ first two points, we hold that the trial court earnestly attempted to follow the directions of this court and that his findings of fact are amply supported by the record. Appellants urge that the trial court proceeded improperly in that it reached a conclusion of law that the defendants were estopped from asserting that negotiations might have taken place if there had been no breach of the contract.1 We hold that in view of the clear statement contained in the findings of fact that the trial court did not determine this case upon the issue of estoppel and that, therefore, the inclusion of the statement that the principle of estoppel upon the facts reinforced its decision was surplusage and, if incorrect, would be harmless error. Cf. Cohen v. Mohawk, Inc., Fla.1962, 137 S.2d 222, 225.

Turning to appellants’ contention that the trial court did not properly apply the rules of damages, this argument is upon two bases. First, it is urged that since the plaintiff was a cooperating broker, he is limited to recovery of one-half of the commission. Inasmuch as the action brought by the plaintiff was for the interference of the defendants with plaintiff’s advantageous business relationship with the seller of the property, the amount of the damages was properly measured by the lost commission. Cf. Oro Verde Groves, Inc. v. Fuchs, Fla.App.1962, 136 So. 2d 12. If there are obligations upon the plaintiff for a payment of a part of the commission, they remain the obligations of the plaintiff and do not diminish the damages recoverable. This record does not reveal the particulars concerning, or the rights of, the claimed participating broker. It should be noted that the defendants did not seek to have the participating broker made a party to this action. See RCP 1.250. They cannot at this late date, after completing trial on the issue of damages, assert the possible claim of a third party.

Lastly, appellants claim that the court improperly allowed interest on the commission found to be due. Appellants point out that the action was in tort and that interest is not ordinarily allowed on an unliquidated tort claim. Zorn v. Britton, 120 Fla. 304, 162 So. 879 (1935). An exception, which is applicable to this case, exists where the recovery, although in tort, is based upon a contract which makes the amount of damages fixed and recoverable as of a specific date of the breach of contract. See Parker v. Brinson Construction Co., Fla.1955, 78 So. 2d 873; Srybnik v. Ice Tower, Inc., Fla.App.1966, 183 So. 2d 224.

Affirmed.

. Under the heading Conclusions of Law, the trial court stated:

* * * * * *

“2. Although the Court has found the facts to be as indicated above, the Court concludes that Defendants should be estopped by their conduct in any event from asserting that negotiations might have taken place regarding a reduced commission.”

* * * * * *


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Robinson v. Fernanda Peterson, 375 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)
    …mply whether the lessor’s claim was liquidated. If so, prejudgment interest must be allowed under the general rule established by case law. When an amount due is fixed by contract, the claim is liquidated. Kennedy v. George Cully Real Estate, Inc., 336 So. 2d 484 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). There can be no doubt that a lessor’s claim for an amount measured by the amount of unpaid rent is a claim for a fixed and determinable amount and, therefore, is a liquidated claim whether or not the lessor’s award is called “gen…
  • Miller v. First Serv. Corp. OF the Fla. Keys, 471 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
    …laimed commencing 60 days from the filing of a proof of loss. See & compare Jackson Grain Co. v. Hoskins, 75 So. 2d 306 (Fla.1954); Warren v. Old Dominion Insurance Co., 465 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); Kennedy v. George Cully Real Estate, Inc., 336 So. 2d 484 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); Tech Corporation v. Permutit Company, 321 So. 2d 562, 563 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); English and American Insurance Company v. Swain Groves, Inc., 218 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969); Greenfield v. Insurance, Inc., 97 Cal.Rptr. 164, 19…
  • Boulder Venture S., LLC v. Sabow, 204 So. 3d 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)
    …t and Kelly Schmidt” is therefore surplusage that is unrelated and unnecessary to the resolution of the single count of the amended complaint upon which the judgments appealed from were rendered. See, e.g., Kennedy v. George Cully Real Estate, Inc., 336 So. 2d 484, 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976) (holding that conclusions of law as to equitable estoppel were surplusage where the trial court stated that it was not resolving the case on that basis). Our review of the record reflects substantial questions about what the…

Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw