Opinion
Case Number: 07-22865-CIV-MORENO.
December 14, 2007
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS COUNT V OF PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT
Plaintiff sued Defendants claiming that Defendants breached a contract. The contract provided that Defendants manufacture and install the interior of a yacht. Plaintiff claims that Defendants breached the contract by charging more money than agreed in the contract and by not fully performing the contract.
Count five of the complaint alleges that Plaintiff was negligent in the performance of the contract. Plaintiff claims that the negligence resulted in damages in the amount of replacing the interior components of the yacht and prosecuting this lawsuit. Plaintiff moved to dismiss count five in its Motion to Dismiss Count V of Plaintiff's Complaint (D.E. No. 2) filed on November 2, 2007 contending that the economic loss rule bars a negligence claim because the parties relationship is governed by a contract. Plaintiff did not respond to the motion.
The economic loss rule requires that "no cause of action in tort can arise from a breach of a duty existing by virtue of a contract." Weimer v. Yacht Club Point Estates, Inc., 223 So.2d 100, 103 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969). The negligence claim relies on the same alleged facts as the breach of contract claim. Both counts assert that Defendant did not perform as agreed in the contract. The alleged damages for both counts are identical. The economic loss rule therefore bars the negligence claim. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Count V of Plaintiff's Complaint is granted. Count five is dismissed.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida.