Bill Heard Leasing, Inc. v. Rocco Enterprises, Inc.
| Decision Date | 07 July 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--1085,75--1085 |
| Citation | 334 So.2d 296 |
| Parties | BILL HEARD LEASING, INC., a Florida Corporation, Appellant, v. ROCCO ENTERPRISES, INC., a Florida Corporation, etc., et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Michael A. Linsky, Tampa, for appellant.
No appearance by appellees.
We revese a final judgment wherein the trial court refused to award contractual liquidated damages resulting from breach of a lease.
In February 1974, appellant Bill Heard Leasing, Inc., (Heard) entered into a truck lease and service agreement with appellee Rocco Enterprises, Inc., (Rocco) for the leasing of a vehicle specifically purchased, painted, and equipped for Rocco. The contract provided for weekly lease payments of a fixed amount plus a mileage charge, and Rocco's obligations thereunder were guaranteed by appellee, John R. Rocco, Jr., personally.
By December 1974 the lease payments pursuant to the contract were over four months in arrears. In spite of repeated requests by Heard to bring the account current, the arrearages grew steadily larger. Heard notified Rocco and John R. Rocco, Jr., that it intended to exercise the termination option contained in the contract and that if payment of arrearages was not promptly remitted Heard would seek the damages specified in paragraph 21 thereof which, in addition to rental arrearages, provides that such damages were to be based on the contractually specified depreciated value of the vehicle on the date of termination, less the salvage value, plus all incidental costs. 1 Rocco had the option to avoid these damages totally by purchasing the vehicle at the depreciated value. Rocco did not opt to purchase the vehicle at the precomputed price, nor were any rental payments made thereafter. The arrearages continued to grow and, after repeated demands, Heard finally brought this action seeking the damages provided for in paragraph 21.
At trial, the executed contract and guarantee were not contested and, after resolving some minor discrepancies, the amount of the lease payment arrearages was agreed upon. The mailing and receipt of the plaintiff's demands for payment of arrearages, election to terminate the contract, and demand for purchase of the vehicle in question were all acknowledged by the defendants. Further, the plaintiff's evidence of the reasonable salvage value of the vehicle at the time of termination was not controverted.
Although the trial judge found that Rocco had breached the contract by failing to pay the lease payments when due, he refused to award Heard the damages as provided for in paragraph 21, apparently because he determined them to constitute a forfeiture rather than 'liquidated damages.' We disagree.
The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Walter v. Pershing Auto Leasing, Inc., 92-716
...dismissed, 576 So.2d 290 (Fla.1990); Puckett v. Codisco, Inc., 440 So.2d 596 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Bill Heard Leasing, Inc. v. Rocco Enterprises, Inc., 334 So.2d 296 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Wilson, 210 So.2d 761 (Fla. 3d DCA ...
-
Ilkanic v. City of Fort Lauderdale
...that the flat charge of $50 per day is reasonably related to the costs of incarceration. 2 See Bill Heard Leasing, Inc. v. Rocco Enterprises, Inc., 334 So.2d 296 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976) (provision for liquidated damages will be upheld if reasonable under the circumstances and the damages are not......
-
Olesen v. Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster
...that the liquidated damage provision of the contract is an invalid and unenforceable penalty clause. See Bill Heard Leasing, Inc. v. Rocco Enter., Inc., 334 So.2d 296 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). ...