C. I. P. STUDIOS, LIMITED, APPELLANT,
v.
SPA HEALTH CLUB, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1976-09-14
No. 75-1596
Before BARKDULL, C. J., and HENDRY and NATHAN, JJ.
337 So. 2d 1009 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

C.I.P. Studios sued Spa Health Club for the unpaid balance on a printing contract for 150,000 advertising brochures. The trial court awarded judgment to the plaintiff but granted the defendant a partial set-off for costs of removing a trademarked globe from the brochures. The appellate court reversed the set-off, holding the printer had no duty to identify trademark infringement.


Holding

The court reversed the set-off, holding that the defendant failed to prove by competent substantial evidence or expert testimony that it was the printer's responsibility to recognize trademark infringement. The written contract terms contradicted the defendant's claim of an oral modification regarding delivery schedule.


Headnotes

[1] A party seeking a set-off must prove entitlement to it with competent substantial evidence.

[2] A printer does not have a duty to recognize trademark infringement on materials provided by the customer for printing.

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

Key Quotes

“The record reflects that the defendant's entitlement to a set-off was neither proved nor supported by competent substantial evidence.”

Establishes the standard that the defendant bore the burden of proving its set-off claim with competent evidence, which it failed to meet.

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

C.I.P. Studios agreed to print 150,000 advertising brochures for Spa Health Club. The defendant provided written information and a photograph of a sta…

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.

This is an appeal by the plaintiff, C.I.P. Studios, Limited, from a final judgment in favor of the defendant, Spa Health Club, Inc., allowing the defendant a set-off from the plaintiff’s judgment.

This action stems from a contract whereby the plaintiff was to print 150,000 advertising brochures for the defendant, Spa Health Club, for a specified sum. The defendant furnished the plaintiff printer with the written information and with a photograph of a statue on the defendant’s premises, to be used in the brochure. The defendant made one payment in advance, but when the plaintiff delivered the merchandise, the postdated checks given to the plaintiff by the defendant were dishonored, and the defendant refused to pay the balance due. The plaintiff filed suit for the remaining $8,496 due on the contract. The defendant answered and by affirmative defense stated that it was entitled to a set-off of the purchase price because the merchandise delivered was not useable and not in accordance with the order and because the plaintiff delivered all 150,000 brochures at once, even though it was to deliver only 50,000 at a time.

As requested by the defendant, the brochure contained a photograph of the statue in front of defendant’s place of business (depicting a woman and a man holding a globe of the world above his right shoulder). The defendant was prevented from using the brochures due to a trademark infringement involving the globe of the world held by the statue. The cause was heard non-jury, resulting in a final judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the total unpaid purchase price of the brochures with interest, allowing the defendant a set-off of the cost of removing the globe from the brochures. The defendant contends it was entitled to the set-off because the plaintiff printer had a duty to recognize that there was a trademark infringement making the brochure unuseable unless the globe were removed.

The questions on appeal are whether the trial court erred in awarding the defendant a set-off, whether the printer should have known of the trademark infringement, and whether an oral agreement not to deliver all 150,000 brochures at once, is valid and binding. The record reflects that the defendant’s entitlement to a set-off was neither proved nor supported by competent substantial evidence. The defendant failed to prove by expert testimony or otherwise, that it is the printer’s responsibility to recognize a trademark infringement. As to the question of delivery of the brochures, the very terms of the written contract between the parties contradict defendant’s claim of an oral contract changing the terms for delivery. Accordingly, we uphold the judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and reverse that portion of the judgment allowing the defendant a set-off. The remaining points on appeal are without merit and will not be discussed.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Masvidal v. Ochoa, 505 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
    …een the parties which required the bank’s board of directors to approve any management contract with the defendant. See C.H. Robinson Co. v. L & M Brokerage Co., 344 So. 2d 894, 895 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); C.I.P. Studios, Ltd. v. Spa Health Club, Inc., 337 So. 2d 1009, 1010 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); Seaway Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Brunswick Corp., 242 So. 2d 192, 193 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970). The final judgment under review is, therefore, in all respects, Affirmed.…

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw