Viscito v. Fred S. Carbon Co., Inc., 97-1560
| Decision Date | 02 September 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-1560,97-1560 |
| Citation | 717 So.2d 586 |
| Parties | 23 Fla. L. Weekly D2034 Anthony VISCITO and Frances Viscito, d/b/a Waffle Land U.S.A., Appellants, v. FRED S. CARBON CO., INC., a foreign corporation, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
John G. George of George and Lander, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellants.
William F. Cobb of Barnett & Barnard, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, and Gary A. Dumas of Gary A. Dumas, P.A., Miami Lakes, for appellee.
Anthony and Frances Viscito, d/b/a Waffle Land U.S.A. ("the Viscitos") appeal from entry of final summary judgment on all three counts of their second amended complaint, alleging tortious interference, conversion, and breach of contract against Fred S. Carbon, Inc. ("Carbon"). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
This is the second appeal 1 in this case stemming from an oral agreement between the Viscitos and Carbon. Pursuant to the agreement, Carbon agreed to provide the Viscitos with exclusive distributorship rights to sell and distribute its waffle mix in South Florida, and the Viscitos, in return, agreed to obtain customers for the product. In Counts I and II of their second amended complaint, the Viscitos alleged that Carbon tortiously interfered with their business relationships and wrongly utilized the Viscitos' customer list for its own benefit. They claimed Carbon had converted their customers as its own by first wrongfully obtaining a list of customers from them under the guise of implementation of a new billing system, and then providing the list of names and addresses to another distributor. They also alleged breach of contract in Count III.
Thereafter, Carbon moved for summary judgment based on the Agreement being barred by the Statute of Frauds, and on there being no genuine issues of material facts as to their claims for tortious interference and conversion. The Viscitos filed an affidavit in opposition, but it was stricken as untimely. Based only on the record evidence timely presented, the court granted the motion. The Viscitos appealed.
The fact is undisputed that the parties' oral agreement created a business relationship that lasted over an extended and indefinite period of time. Under the agreement, Carbon had the right to terminate the relationship at any time, and, in fact, did. As such, we believe the trial court correctly concluded that enforcement of the agreement was barred by the Statute of Frauds. See Chong v. Milano...
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...list under certain circumstances could constitute tortious interference with business relationships. E.g., Viscito v. Fred S. Carbon, Inc., 717 So.2d 586 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). For these reasons, Defendants' claim for summary judgment on Count I of the Complaint is G. Florida Deceptive and Un......
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...Except for goods already sold, as we have just seen, such an unwritten agreement is unenforceable. Viscito v. Fred S. Carbon Co., 23 Fla. L. Weekly D2034, 717 So.2d 586 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Chong v. Milano, 623 So.2d 536 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). Because the parties had long since passed the $50......
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...that can be considered in determining what the parties intended at the time the agreement was made. See Viscito v. Fred S. Carbon Co., Inc., 717 So.2d 586, 587 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (“The fact is undisputed that the parties' oral agreement created a business relationship that lasted over an e......
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