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Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District
Nov 5, 1987
514 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)

Summary

holding that summary judgment was not a valid substitute for an evidentiary hearing on unliquidated damages

Summary of this case from Specialty Sols. v. Baxter Gypsum & Concrete, LLC

Opinion

No. 86-2123.

November 5, 1987.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Orange County, Frank N. Kaney, J.

Robert B. White, Jr., of White May, Orlando, for appellant.

Frederic B. O'Neal of Winderweedle, Haines, Ward Woodman, P.A., Orlando, for appellees.


This is an appeal from a judgment which awarded unliquidated damages without trial. Although a default judgment can be entered to establish liability a trial is necessary to establish unliquidated damages. Bowman v. Kingsland Dev., Inc., 432 So.2d 660 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). Therefore, the award of unliquidated compensatory damages by summary judgment in this case was error. See Buffington v. Torcise, 504 So.2d 490 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Turner v. Allen, 389 So.2d 686 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); B/G Amusements, Inc. v. Mystery Fun House, Inc., 381 So.2d 318 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980).

After the motion for summary judgment and compensatory damages were granted, the attorney for appellee sent a notice of nonjury trial to appellant. The notice was defective because the order was sent by the opposing attorney rather than the court and did not give the requisite thirty-days notice of trial. Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.440(c). Lauxmont Farms did not attend the nonjury trial in which the trial court awarded $1,600,000 in punitive damages and $6,400 in attorney's fees and costs.

Strict compliance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440 is required and failure to do so is reversible error. Ramos v. Menks, 509 So.2d 1123 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Bennett v. Continental Chemicals, Inc., 492 So.2d 724 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); see also Broussard v. Broussard, 506 So.2d 463 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). We have stated before that a party has a due process entitlement to notice and an opportunity to be heard on unliquidated damages pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440. Bowman v. Kingsland Development, Inc., 432 So.2d at 663. Lauxmont Farms' fundamental due process rights were violated by the defective notice of nonjury trial for both compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys fees and costs. Accordingly, the judgments for damages, attorney's fees and costs are reversed and remanded for new trial after proper notice under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440. We find no merit in Lauxmont Farms' other contentions on appeal.

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part and REMANDED.

ORFINGER and COBB, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District
Nov 5, 1987
514 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)

holding that summary judgment was not a valid substitute for an evidentiary hearing on unliquidated damages

Summary of this case from Specialty Sols. v. Baxter Gypsum & Concrete, LLC

In Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin, 514 So.2d 1133 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), after a motion for summary judgment on unliquidated damages in a default case was erroneously granted, an order setting non-jury trial on punitive damages and attorney's fees was sent by Flavin's counsel.

Summary of this case from Mourning v. Ballast

In Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin, 514 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), after a motion for summary judgment on unliquidated damages in a default case was erroneously granted, an order setting non-jury trial on punitive damages and attorney's fees was sent by Flavin's counsel.

Summary of this case from Mourning v. Ballast Nedam Constr.

In Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin, 514 So.2d 1133, 1134 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), the court held that the defendant's fundamental due process rights were violated because the notice of trial on the unliquidated damages was sent by the opposing attorney rather than the court and, further, did not give the requisite thirty-days' notice of the trial.

Summary of this case from Viets v. American Recruiters Enterprises, Inc.
Case details for

Lauxmont Farms, Inc. v. Flavin

Case Details

Full title:LAUXMONT FARMS, INC., APPELLANT, v. JAMES P. FLAVIN AND ANN FLAVIN, HIS…

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District

Date published: Nov 5, 1987

Citations

514 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)

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