Wodzisz v. Live Oak Land, LLC
Wodzisz v. Live Oak Land, LLC
Opinion of the Court
In this appeal, Frank Wodzisz, the seller in a land sales contract, challenges a final summary judgment ordering specific performance in favor of the buyer, Live Oak Land, LLC. Because genuine issues of material fact exist, we reverse.
The contract for this large, twenty-acre parcel of mostly unimproved land was subject to a rezoning contingency whereby the purchase price was subject to an upward adjustment based on the number of units for which zoning approval was obtained by Wodzisz. The $1,350,000 purchase price assumed zoning would be granted for twenty-eight residential units. Under the addendum, if only twenty-seven units were approved, the price would be $1,300,000 and if twenty-six or fewer units were approved, the price would be $1,250,000. Closing was to take place sixty days following the final rezoning of the property. Wodzisz demanded a closing prior to September 16, 2004, because he maintained that Live Oak waived the rezoning contingency on July 13, 2004, when following a Martin County Board of County Commissioners’ meeting, Joe Lelonek, a Live Oak principal, told him that “zoning has failed” and Live Oak “wanted to put ‘for sale’ signs on the property at that time.” The dispute ended in litigation when Live Oak refused to close prior to September 16, 2004, and maintained that the contingency was not waived until September 9, 2004, when Live Oak’s counsel sent Wodzisz an e-mail expressly waiving the development condition. In granting summary judgment, the trial court ruled in favor of Live Oak and granted specific performance. Because genuine issues of material fact exist concerning when the zoning contingency was waived and when the contract expired, we reverse. See Moore v. Morris, 475 So.2d 666, 668 (Fla. 1985) (noting that the court must draw every possible inference in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought).
Reversed and Remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.