Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...of habitability claim under state law, on the grounds that: (1) the only remedy available under this theory is termination of the lease agreement; and (2) the Plaintiffs have failed to plead compliance with the notice requirement of Florida Statute Section 83.56(1)....

...1973], or may raise any other defense, whether legal or equitable, that he may have. The defense of a material noncompliance with s.83.51(1) [F.S. 1973] may be raised by the tenant if 7 days have elapsed after the delivery of written notice by the tenant to the landlord as prescribed in s.83.56(4) *1035 [F.S....

...The tenants contend that the court erred in directing a verdict against them as to those counts. The record, however, does not reflect that action by the court. When the court announced that it would grant a directed verdict to certain issues regarding the requirements of notice under section 83.56(1), Florida Statutes (1981), counsel for the tenants took a "voluntary dismissal" [2] of all counts except the count founded on negligence....

...ntract. On the other hand, he consumes some of the beans and becomes ill, he also has a cause of action for negligence for his personal injuries. To recover for diminishment in the value of the premises, it is necessary for the tenant to comply with section 83.56, Florida Statutes (1981), which provides as follows: Remedies; termination of rental agreement....

...It did not create a new cause of action in tort for the diminution in value of the premises. It only extended a duty to the landlord which had formerly been transferred to the tenant with possession. To accept the tenants' argument that the notice under section 83.56 is not required because they framed their claim in negligence would defeat the legislative requirement of notice....

...relief under Chapter 11 in this Court. The resolution of the matter under consideration requires the interpretation of a lease and the Florida statute which governs the relationship between landlords of tenants of commercial leases, Florida Statute § 83.56....

...ral Savings & Loan Association v. DeLoach, Fla.App., 362 So.2d 982 (1978). Jimmy Hall's Morningside v. Blackburn & Peck Enter., 235 So.2d 344 (Fla.1970). These provisions are codified, to some extent, by the default provision of the Florida Statute, § 83.56, subsection (3) which provides, inter alia, that if a tenant fails to pay rent when due and the default continues for three days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, after delivery of written demand by the landlord for payment of...

...between [the landlord] and Hickory Point Industries." On June 13, 1985, the Bankruptcy Court concluded that the letter did not effectively terminate the lease because the landlord did not comply with the three-day notice provision of Florida Statute § 83.56....

...When the landlord fails to keep the premises in good repair, the tenant is permitted after notice, either to terminate the rental agreement and vacate or remain in possession and deduct that portion of the rent caused by the landlord's noncompliance. Section 83.56(1)....

...The manager of the Destination Motel could not terminate appellant's tenancy on the spot by an immediate "verbal eviction," for neither creating a disturbance nor being behind in rental payments invests the landlord with the legal right to terminate a tenancy without prior written notice. Section 83.56(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1989), authorizes a landlord to terminate a tenancy for "continued unreasonable disturbance" by giving seven days' written notice. Section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (1989), makes nonpayment of rent the basis for termination, but only after three days expire, following delivery of the required written notice....

...ng in a miscarriage of justice," we deny the petition. See Combs v. State, 436 So.2d 93, 96 (Fla.1983). We write to address one point raised by the petitioner. She argues that the eviction was predicated on a three-day notice that did not conform to section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (1995)....

...ful detention of lands and tenements." Based on these authorities, the trial court in this case had subject matter jurisdiction over the eviction action, even assuming that the three-day notice failed to substantially comply with the requirements of section 83.56(3)....

...reat public importance. The trial court held that a landlord's action for eviction was premature because Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(e), which applies to delivery of notice by mail, extended the three day notice period required by sections 83.56(3) and (4), Florida Statutes (1983) of the Landlord and Tenant Act....

...Upon the landlord's motion, the county court certified the following question: Does rule 1.090(e) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure apply to the delivery of the notice to pay rent or vacate that is mailed under the authority of Florida Statute 83.56(3)? We agree with the trial court and answer the question in the affirmative. A landlord is statutorily authorized to terminate a rental agreement after a tenant fails to comply within three days to a written demand for payment of rent, § 83.56(3) Fla. Stat. (1983). Delivery of the landlord's demand is governed by section 83.56(4), Florida Statutes (1983), which provides: The delivery of the written notices required by subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall be by mailing or delivery of a true copy thereof or, if the tenant is absent from his last or usual place of residence, by leaving a copy thereof at the residence....

...We conclude that this holding will not contradict the legislative intent of expediting landlord/tenant disputes but will result in tenants who receive notice by mail being treated similarly to those who receive notice by the other forms of delivery. We decline to answer the second certified question as to whether section 83.56(5), *221 Florida Statutes (1983) precludes a landlord from inserting a provision in the lease which allows him to accept late or partial rent from a tenant without waiving his right to evict....

...In final reference to this point concerning the changes in the building, the trial court found that Multach waived her *1256 right to enforce that portion of the written contract. We have examined the record and can find no basis for waiver. In possible explanation we note that Section 83.56(5), Florida Statutes (1981), provides: (5) If the landlord accepts rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the tenant or accepts performance by the tenant of any other provision of the rental agreement that is at variance with...

...emises. Petitioner appealed to the circuit court and raised two points on appeal. In the first point, petitioner contended that the county court erred in failing to entertain one of petitioner's defenses which involved petitioner's interpretation of section 83.56(5), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...level of constructive eviction because the unit was not “rendered unsafe, unfit, or unsuitable for occupancy in whole, or in substantial part.” Hankins, 138 So. at 496 . Moreover, the Tenant never gave the Landlord the notice to cure required by section 83.56(1) which is a precondition to the tenant’s ability to terminate the rental agreement for the failure of the landlord to comply “with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement.” § 83.56(1), Fla....

...A lessor with the power to *333 terminate its lease may elect not to do so. The parties may continue to perform their respective obligations under the lease. In many cases, the failure to take advantage of a breach gives rise to a waiver of such right. See Fla. Stat. § 83.56(5) (1999) ("If the landlord accepts rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the tenant or accepts performance by the tenant of any other provision of the rental agreement that is at variance with its provisions......

...However, section 83.06 applies only to "nonresidential tenancies," and the property here was a single-family residence. Also, section 83.06 requires proof of a demand for double rent. It clearly is not applicable. I agree with the majority opinion that section 83.56 [5] does not apply *376 to this lawsuit either, because it is not a suit to recover possession of real property after the expiration of a rental agreement....

...Tarr, 467 So.2d 459, 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); Berndt v. Bieberstein, 465 So.2d 1264 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); McNorton v. Pan American Bank of Orlando, 387 So.2d 393, 396 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980), rev. denied, 392 So.2d 1377 (Fla. 1981), and cases cited therein. [5] Section 83.56, Florida Statutes (1985) states: 83.56 Remedies; termination of rental agreement....

...uant to rule 1.090(e). As appellee points out, the statute does not say anywhere that rule 1.090(e) is not to apply. He relies on Investment & Income Realty, Inc. v. Bentley, 480 So.2d 219 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985), in which rule 1.090(e) was applied to a section 83.56(3) notice to pay rent or vacate that the landlord mailed to the tenant, using one permissible means of service; there, the court consequently affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the landlord's eviction action as prematurely filed....

...American Homes owns the residential property rented to Smith. In its amended complaint, KAC alleged American Homes violated section 559.72(5)2 by posting a three-day notice to the door of the property, "as is required by statute when commencing an eviction action." See §§ 83.56(3), (4), .59, Fla....

...with prejudice," and thus, the Fourth District's reversal in Yoss has no bearing on our opinion here. Id. at 842. KAC also raises in this appeal that the trial court erred in invoking the specific-governs-over-general principle where sections 83.56 and 559.72(5) do not conflict....

...ee-day notice was posted prior to the initiation of the eviction proceeding, the posting falls within the litigation privilege's protection because American Homes was required to give the three-day notice terminating the rental agreement pursuant to section 83.56(3). Section 83.56 governs the termination of rental agreements and provides in pertinent part: (3) If the tenant fails to pay rent when due and the default continues for 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, after deliver...

...Place the amount of partial rent accepted from the tenant in the registry of the court upon filing the action for possession; or 3. Post a new 3-day notice reflecting the new amount due. (bold emphases added.) 5  Section 83.56(3) requires delivery of the three-day notice, which may be accomplished by "mailing or delivering" or "by leaving a copy thereof at the residence." § 83.56(4)....

...However, KAC does not take issue with the fact that the three-day notice was posted but instead argues that American Homes should have "posted" the three-day notice facing inward or, alternatively, placed the notice in an envelope and slid it under the door, which KAC argues would comply with both the FCCPA and section 83.56. When a word used in a statute has not been defined by the legislature, the courts look to the plain and ordinary meaning of the word, which may be derived from dictionaries....

...See AGM Invs., LLC, 8 219 So. 3d at 926-27 ("[R]esolution of questions of litigation privilege at an early stage of the litigation furthers the policies underlying the privilege."). In sum, we hold that the posting of a three-day notice pursuant to section 83.56 is necessarily preliminary to an action for possession of the property and is, as a matter of law, protected by the absolute litigation privilege. Affirmed. SILBERMAN and BLACK, JJ., Concur. Opinion subject to revision prior...

without first conducting a hearing. Section 83.56, Florida Statutes (2024), provides various rights

...thout jurisdiction to award damages following a hearing that violated due process. In the county court, landlord Christopher Harvey filed a one-count complaint for tenant eviction against tenant Joyce Noimbie, alleging nonpayment of rent pursuant to section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (2011)....

...Responding to the cross-examiner’s question, “[D]id you lose business, to your knowledge, as a result of this water problem?”, appellant testified: I couldn’t go so far as [to] say, that . . I mean, ... I couldn’t say that and tell the truth. I’m sure I have, but I couldn’t say it and tell the truth. . Section 83.56(5), Florida Statutes (1979): [I]f the tenant pays rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the landlord or accepts performance by the landlord of any other provision of the rental agreement that is at variance with its provisions, the ....

...or alleged violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (the Act). See § 559.72, Fla. Stat. (2022). Allegedly, Hudson SFR Property Holdings, LLC (Hudson), left its three-day residential eviction notice on the tenant's front door. See § 83.56(4), Fla....

...ebtor" under section 559.72(6). The trial court also found that amending the complaint would be futile. In its view, the eviction notice "squarely falls under the 'debt collector' exemptions" of section 559.55(7). The trial court reasoned that section 83.56 required Hudson to deliver its eviction notice "by leaving a copy ....

...3  We also conclude that the trial court should have allowed KAC to amend its complaint. The trial court's finding that KAC could allege no facts showing that Hudson was a "debt collector" is misguided. Although section 83.56 required Hudson to deliver the eviction notice, that act, without any other factual allegations, does not fall "squarely" under the statutory exemptions in section 559.55(7)....

giving Quevedo three-day notice pursuant to section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (2019), was personally

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge. The county court sua sponte dismissed an action for residential eviction and past due rent because the three day letter 1 served pursuant to section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (1989), incorporated a demand— that the rent be paid “in cash” — which does not explicitly appear in the form set out in the statute....

...the obligation “in money.” 39 Fla.Jur.2d Payment and Tender § 16 (1982). It is thus clear that the notice before us comports with the statutory admonition that “[t]he 3-day notice shall contain a statement in substantially” the form stated. § 83.56(3), Fla.Stat....

...In so holding, we approve and adopt Judge Green’s dissenting opinion in the circuit court: I must respectfully dissent with the majority opinion as I do not find that a landlord’s requirement of a cash payment for back rent owed in the mandatory three (3) day notice pursuant to Florida Statute 83.56(3) is fatally defective in an eviction proceeding....

...nk (and thereby incur additional service charges) before he could seek legal redress from the court in an eviction proceeding. Clearly, this would be a rather untenable result which I don’t believe was intended by the legislature when it enacted F.S. 83.56(3). I would thus reverse the trial court’s ruling and would find that a three (3) day notice requiring that payment be made in cash is in substantial compliance with the intent of F.S. 83.56(3)....

...nty), Florida, now occupied by you and that I demand payment of the rent or possession of the premises within 3 days (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays) from the date of delivery of this notice, to wit: on or before the - day of __, 19_ § 83.56(3), Fla.Stat....

...stpone or minimize the impact of income taxes or death taxes.” Hand-in-hand with that goal was the 2 Further, the Family Trust, as landlord, accepted performance of the tenant’s obligations under the lease, despite this noncompliance. See § 83.56(5)(a), Fla....

...This is an appeal by the tenant of a final judgment awarding possession of a residential property to the landlord after the tenant failed to pay rent. The tenant complains that the trial court erred by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on her contention that the landlord’s three-day notice, required by section 83.56(5)(a)(3), Florida Statutes (2014), was flawed....

...possession of a residential property to the landlord after the tenant failed to pay rent. The tenant complains that the trial court erred by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on her contention that the landlord’s three-day notice, required by section 83.56(5)(a)(3), Florida Statutes (2014), was flawed....

...lorida partnership d/b/a Sunstate Commerce Center (Landlord), who seeks relief from the automatic stay to complete a state court action to evict Sorren-to’s I, Inc. (Debtor). The issue before this Court involves the construction of Florida Statute § 83.56(5) (1993) which governs the remedies and termination of rental agreements....

...This payment by the Debtor was clearly at variance with Paragraph 3 of the Lease. Thus, the question is whether the acceptance by the Landlord of the two untimely checks operated as a waiver of the right to terminate the Lease under Paragraph 12 of the Lease and Florida Statute § 83.56(5)....

notice necessary to terminate the rental agreement. § 83.56(3), Fla. Stat. (1995). The only record notice as

...(Landlord’s Name Address Phone Number) NOTE: This notice may be delivered by mail or by delivering a copy to the property. This notice must be delivered, and the three day time period must run, before starting suit to evict the tenant or to recover past due rent. SOURCE: Section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (1990)....

...Statute 83.51(1) or material provisions of our lease agreement. If you do not complete the following repairs within seven days I intend to withhold all future rental payments: [list violations] This letter is sent to you pursuant to Florida Statute 83.56....

...The tenant should, therefore, deposit all rent as it comes due in a separate bank account until the tenant’s disputes with the landlord have been solved. For the text of Florida Statute 83.51(1), and the grounds for withholding rent, see the note to Form 3. SOURCE: Section 83.56, Florida Statutes (1990)....

...the relevant statutory scheme still requires payment of rent as it becomes due, or promptly seeking a determination of rent due from the trial court. Failure to comply “constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses other than 1 Section 83.56(2)(a), Fla....

...Price, Fort Pierce, pro se. No appearance for appellee. PER CURIAM. Tenant appeals the trial court’s final judgment of eviction. After Tenant failed to make a required monthly payment, Landlord issued a notice invoking the provisions of section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (2023), informing Tenant of the lease termination due to non-payment....

provided Mikes with a written warning under section 83.56(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2021), I would reverse

...terminate the rental agreement. This written demand is a *526 prerequisite to an action to evict the Tenant or recover past due rent. Your written rental agreement may have allowed for a longer period than three days and should be reviewed. SOURCE: Section 83.56(3) and (4), Florida Statutes (19952007)....

...her than the failure to pay rent), or reasonable rules and regulations. For the notice necessary to terminate the rental agreement under circumstances where the Tenant must be given the opportuni *527 ty to remedy the violation, see Florida Statutes 83.56(2)(b)....

...nts, the Landlord may be able to terminate the leaserental agreement without giving the Tenant an opportunity to remedydhe violation. For the notice necessary to terminate the leaserental agreement under these circumstances, see Florida Statute gg£283.56(2)(a)....

...y of the notice at the premisesdwelling unit. This written notice must be delivered, and the seven day time period must run, prior to any termination of the leaserental agreement or any lawsuit for eviction. SOURCESection Sections 83.52 (2)(-b)? and 83.56 Florida Statute (1995Statutes (2007)....

...(4) The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other person on the premises with the tenant’s consent. SOURCE: Section 83.46,83.56, Florida Statutes (49952007)....

...The Tenant should, therefore, deposit all rent as it comes due in a separate bank account until the Tenant’s disputes with the Landlord have been solvetbresolved. For the text of Florida Statute 83.51(1), and the grounds for withholding rent, see the note to Form 3. SOURCE: Section-83£6, Sections 83.56 and 83.60, Florida Statutes (49852007)....

...If you do not complete the following repairs, non-compliance, violation or default, within seven days I intend to withhold all future rental paymentspayment and/or terminate the rental agreement: [list non-compliance violations or default] This letter is sent to you pursuant to Florida Statute 83.56....