Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...We need address only the issue of accord and satisfaction. Our -5- standard of review is de novo. Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000). IV. DISCUSSION Section 673.3111, Florida Statutes (2011), "Accord and satisfaction by use of instrument," provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (1) If a person against whom a claim is asserted proves that that person in good...

...We interpret the statutory language to mean that the condominium association must apply such payments to amounts due in accordance with the statutory command without regard to any accompanying instructions to the contrary. We do not think that the legislature intended the penultimate sentence of subsection three to amend section 673.3111 tacitly or to otherwise alter the law of accord and satisfaction in favor of condominium associations when they accept payments for assessments and related charges. The pertinent legislative history confirms our inter...

...Thus the staff analyses confirm that the pertinent language was added to subsection three to invalidate restrictive endorsements that provide a formula for the application of payments other than that set forth in the statute. There is nothing in the staff analyses suggesting that the amendment was intended to make section 673.3111 inapplicable to condominium associations or that the amendment would otherwise alter Florida law concerning accord and satisfaction solely for the benefit of condominium associations. We recognize that part of the discussion in Ocean Two Condominium Ass'n v....

...e or a money judgment, alleging that Devo was liable for $40,645.70 in unpaid condominium fees and assessments. Devo argued that the Association's acceptance of Devo's $2412 payment constituted an accord and satisfaction of that debt, pursuant to section 673.3111, Florida Statutes (2014)....

...he legislative session immediately following our St Croix Lane Trust decision, the legislature passed an amendment to section 718.116(3) expressly clarifying that section 718.116(3) applies notwithstanding the law of accord and satisfaction under section 673.3111....

...Croix Lane Trust. In St. Croix Lane Trust, a condominium association sought to foreclose a lien against a condominium unit owned by a trust because of past-due assessments. 144 So. 3d at 640. The trust argued that accord and satisfaction, pursuant to section 673.3111, occurred when the condominium association deposited the trust's $840 check in full satisfaction of the more than $36,000 in various assessments and fees owed to the condominium....

...-4-  On appeal, this court disagreed, holding that nothing in section 718.116(3)'s legislative history revealed any intention to make the accord and satisfaction principles set forth in section 673.3111 inapplicable to condominium associations....

...negotiation of Devo's check operated as accord and satisfaction, and citing this court's decision in St. Croix Lane Trust for support. On November 12, 2014, Devo filed an answer and affirmative defenses. Devo's first affirmative defense was accord and satisfaction, pursuant to section 673.3111. On November 18, 2014, the trial court denied Devo's amended motion to dismiss. On February 10, 2015, Devo moved for summary judgment. This motion again alleged, in part, that accord and satisfaction occurred pursuant to section 673.3111, and again cited St....

...n, then to any administrative late fee, then to any costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred in collection, and then to the delinquent assessment. The foregoing is applicable notwithstanding s. 673.3111, any purported accord and satisfaction, or any restrictive endorsement, designation, or instruction placed on or accompanying a payment....

...See Bill History, CS/CS/HB 0791 (2015), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/791/?Tab=BillHistory (last visited June 23, 2016). The plain language of the amended section 718.116(3) states that the order of priority for delinquent payments laid out in the statute "is applicable notwithstanding [section] 673.3111" or "any purported accord and satisfaction." The amended section 718.116(3) then states, "The preceding sentence is intended to clarify existing law."1 It is clear to us that the legislature amended section 718.116(3) in re...

...or any other language restricting further negotiation." Restrictive Indorsement, Black's Law Dictionary 893 (10th ed. 2014).2 A proper offer of accord and satisfaction contains such a condition in the form of a "conspicuous statement" that an offer "was tendered as full satisfaction of the claim." § 673.3111(2). Florida case law acknowledges that accord and satisfaction results "when an offeree accepts a payment which is tendered only on the express condition that its receipt is to be deemed a complete satisfaction of a disputed claim." Hannah v....

...The trial court found that section 725.05, Florida Statutes (1993), which allows the satisfaction of a liquidated debt for less than the full amount due by execution of a written instrument was dispositive of the claim, rejecting the appellant’s contention that section 673.3111, Florida Statutes (1993), and the common law of consideration of contracts precluded the enforcement of the release....

...Therefore, where a conflict exists, the statute prevails. International Shoe predates the enactment of section 725.05 by over eleven years, and to the extent that the ease is inconsistent with the statute, the statute prevails. The appellant argues that section 673.3111, Accord and Satisfaction, enacted after section 725.05, changes the interpretation of section 725.05. We disagree. Section 673.3111 deals with accord and satisfaction by use of instrument....

...“Instrument” is defined in section 673.1041(2), Florida Statutes (1993), as a negotiable instrument. The memorandum of agreement in this case which constitutes the release is not a negotiable instrument within the meaning of section 673.1041(2), and thus section 673.3111 does not apply to its terms. Additionally, section 725.05 deals with liquidated debts, whereas section 673.3111 deals with disputed debts. The appellant categorized his debt as undisputed. While from the record we might disagree, as the appellant alleges that he was *1118 due $4,395 but he was paid five hundred dollars less, section 673.3111 would not apply to the undisputed debt....

...ng Agreement. Upon review, the trial court found that statutory accord and satisfaction applied and entered a summary judgment accordingly. The broker challenges this ruling, arguing that the statute is not applicable to the instant facts. We agree. Section 673.3111(4) of the Florida Statutes (2001) sets forth the elements of statutory accord and satisfaction, providing in relevant part: *1241 673.3111....

...Accordingly, the trial court’s ruling entering summary judgment on the basis of statutory accord and satisfaction must be reversed and this case remanded for further proceeding consistent with this opinion. 2 REVERSED and REMANDED. THOMPSON and MONACO, JJ., concur. . See § 673.3111, Fla....

...(Rivero Diagnostic) on United Auto’s defense of accord and satisfaction. 1 We reverse, and hold that the language displayed on the check issued by United Auto satisfied the “conspicuous statement” requirement of Florida’s Accord and Satisfaction statute, section 673.3111(2), Florida Statutes (2008), and the trial court erred in finding to the contrary. FACTS AND BACKGROUND Carlos Bacallao was involved in an automobile accident on March 10, 2008....

...3d DCA 1980), that common law concept has largely been supplanted by Florida’s adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, chapters 670-680. Relevant to the instant case, Chapter 673 generally addresses negotiable instruments and, in particular, section 673.3111—entitled “Accord and satisfaction by use of instrument”—provides in pertinent part that a claim may be discharged by way of an accord and satisfaction if the person against whom the claim is asserted proves that the instrument or an accompanying written communication contained a conspicuous statement to the effect that the instrument was tendered as full satisfaction of the claim. § 673.3111(2), Fla....

...indicate some of the methods of making a term attention-calling,” but instructs that the ultimate test is simply “whether attention can reasonably be expected to be called to it.” This is also consistent with the Uniform Commercial Code comment that follows section 673.3111’s accord and satisfaction provision, which observes: [The accord and satisfaction statute] requires a “conspicuous” statement that the instrument was tendered in full satisfaction of 7  the claim....

...The statement is conspicuous if “it is so written that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it.” If the claimant can reasonably be expected to examine the check, almost any statement on the check should be noticed and is therefore conspicuous. § 673.3111, Fla....

...statutory accord and satisfaction provision, as well as the definition of “conspicuous” used in that context. See, e.g., § 42a–3–311(b), Conn. Stat. Ann. (2021) (“Accord and Satisfaction by Use of Instrument” statute provides, in language identical to Florida’s section 673.3111(2), that “the claim is discharged if the person against whom the claim is asserted proves that the instrument or an accompanying written communication contained a conspicuous statement to the effect that the instrument was tendered as full satisfaction of the claim”); § 336.3-311(b), Minn....

...ice, it filed a complaint against the insurer alleging breach of contract. The insurer answered the complaint and asserted several affirmative defenses, two of which are relevant. First, the insurer alleged that a valid accord and satisfaction under section 673.3111, Florida Statutes (2017), discharged CPR’s claim. Second, the insurer alleged that CPR “failed to make a proper request to exceed the limits” as set forth in the “Special Provisions – Florida” endorsement. The insurer moved for summary judgment based on these two affirmative defenses....

...In that motion, CPR stated that when it granted the summary judgment motion, the court “ruled: 1) That Plaintiff failed to make a request to exceed the available limits of coverage for reasonable emergency measures under the subject policy of insurance, and 2) Plaintiffs claims are barred by Section 673.3111, Florida Statutes (accord and satisfaction by instrument).” But even if the court only relied on one of the two defenses as the basis of its ruling, the record permits us to address both....

...ipt is deemed to be a complete satisfaction’” of the debt. United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Palm Chiropractic Ctr., Inc., 51 So. 3d 506, 509 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (quoting St. Mary’s Hosp., Inc. v. Schocoff, 725 So. 2d 454, 456 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)). Section 673.3111 provides a statutory claim for accord and satisfaction by use of an instrument: (1) If a person against whom a claim is asserted proves that that person in good faith tendered an instrument to the claimant as full...

...whom the claim is asserted proves that the instrument or an accompanying written communication contained a conspicuous statement to the effect that the instrument was tendered as full satisfaction of the claim. § 673.3111(1)-(2), Fla....