Lerner v. Regency Homes, Inc.

• Decision Date: 08 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-2677.,98-2677.
• Parties: Olga Abate LERNER and Julius L. Lerner, Appellants, v. REGENCY HOMES, INC., a Florida corporation and Harris Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, a partnership u/a/d May 22, 1990, d/b/a Springfield At The Park; Springfield At The Park, a joint venture comprised of Regency Homes, Inc., and Harris Homes, Inc.; Regency Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Harris Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

745 So.2d 552

Olga Abate LERNER and Julius L. Lerner, Appellants, v. REGENCY HOMES, INC., a Florida corporation and Harris Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, a partnership u/a/d May 22, 1990, d/b/a Springfield At The Park; Springfield At The Park, a joint venture comprised of Regency Homes, Inc., and Harris Homes, Inc.; Regency Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Harris Homes, Inc., a Florida corporation, Appellees.

No. 98-2677.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

December 8, 1999.

Douglas R. Bell of Law Office of Bell & Bell, Fort Lauderdale, for appellants. R. Bowen Gillespie, III of Gillespie & Allison, P.A., Boca Raton, for appellees.

COX, CYNTHIA L., Associate Judge.

The Lerners entered into a real estate contract with Appellees. Pursuant to the contract, the Lerners paid Appellees a deposit of $13,085. The Lerners also paid an additional $1,958.25 for extras, a microwave, tile upgrade, and a refrigerator, which they never received. When the Lerners failed to close on the house, the Appellees, by a letter dated January 15, 1992, notified the Lerners that their contract for sale and purchase was null and void, and their deposits had been forfeited and retained. Subsequently, the Lerners initiated action against Appellees for recovery of their deposits plus interest, and their attorney's fees and costs. On December 15, 1997, the trial court entered a final judgment that declared the contract for sale and purchase null and void, awarded Appellees the deposit of $13,085, awarded the Lerners their deposit of $1,958.25, and required the parties to bear their own costs and attorney's fees. On appeal, the Lerners seek the return of their $13,085 deposit, prejudgment interest on the $1,958.25, and their attorney's fees and costs. We affirm the final judgment except we reverse the denial of prejudgment interest on the $1,958.25.

The Florida supreme court has held that when a verdict liquidates damages on a plaintiff's out-of-pocket pecuniary losses, plaintiff is entitled, as a matter of law, to prejudgment interest at the statutory rate from the date of the loss. Argonaut Ins. Co. v. May Plumbing Co., 474 So.2d 212, 215 (Fla.1985); see also Diversified Commercial Developers, Inc. v. Formrite, Inc., 450 So.2d 533, 535-36 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). In First National Bank of Pompano Beach v. Joseph C. Mackey & Co., 330 So.2d 39 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), this court found that it was error to omit, as part of the plaintiff's damages, interest on the debt from the date it was due. Id. at 40. As stated in Argonaut, "[p]laintiff is to be made whole from the date of the loss once a finder of fact has determined the amount of damages and defendant's liability therefor." 474 So.2d at 215.

Here, the Appellees breached the contract when they failed to refund the $1,958.25 on January 15, 1992, the date of termination. Therefore, the...