Stewart v. Mehrlust
Cases that cite this one
11 later published cases cite this decision.
- Newcastle Properties, Inc. v. Shalowitz (Ill. App. Ct. 1991)
- Newcastle Properties, Inc. v. Shalowitz (Ill. App. Ct. 1991)
- In re Ocean Blue Leasehold Property LLC (United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District Florida 2008)
- Wilson v. Woodward (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)
- PABC Florida Associates v. Lexington Development Corp. of Florida, Inc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990)
- Brecker v. Furman (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)
- Alvis v. Investment I, Inc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)
- In re Alchar Hardware Co., Inc. And Knight & Wall Co., Inc., Debtors. Jeanette Tavormina, Trustee v. Fir, Inc., Lawrence Lyman and Elias J. Hakim, Jr. (11th Cir. 1985)
- Freitag v. LAKES OF CARRIAGE HILLS (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1985)
- Makris v. Williams (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1983)
- Tavormina v. FIR, Inc. (In re Alchar Hardware, Co.) (United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District Florida 1983)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
Lawrence C. STEWART, Jr., Appellant,
v.
Jesse P. MEHRLUST and Betty H. Mehrlust, His Wife, Appellees.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
*1086 Douglas H. Smith of Douglas H. Smith, P.A., Lake Alfred, for appellant.
Joe L. Sharit, Jr., of Straughn, Sharit, Bunn & Chilton, P.A., Winter Haven, for appellees.
SCHOONOVER, Judge.
Larry D. Stewart, Jr., one of the defendants below, has appealed from a final judgment entered against him and James Dickerson. We reverse.
On or about March 17, 1980, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Mehrlust, appellees, entered into a contract for the sale of certain real estate to the appellant and James Dickerson. The agreement provided that the purchasers were to make a $10,000 deposit. At the time of execution of the contract, the purchasers failed to tender the deposit. However, the appellees signed the contract and were willing to proceed with the sale of the property. The buyers defaulted and the appellees brought suit for the amount of the deposit. The trial court entered judgment against the buyer for $10,000 plus interest and attorney's fees.
The contract provided:
U. DEFAULT: If Buyer fails to perform this Contract within the time specified, the deposit(s) paid by the Buyer aforesaid may be retained by or for the account of Seller as liquidated damages, consideration for the execution of this Contract and in full settlement of any claims; whereupon all parties shall be relieved of all obligations under the Contract; or Seller, at his option, may proceed at law or in equity to enforce his legal rights under this Contract.
When a real estate contract provides that if a sale is not closed because of the fault of the buyer, the deposit paid under the contract is to be retained by the seller, the seller cannot recover a deposit not actually made. Campbell v. Salman, 384 So.2d 1331 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).
The appellant did not tender a deposit, so there was nothing to be retained by the sellers. Since appellee did not seek to recover the difference, if any, between the agreed purchase price and the actual value of the property at the time of the breach, judgment should have been entered for the appellant. See Campbell v. Salman.
We reverse and remand for the entry of a judgment for the appellant.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and OTT, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.