ST. LAWRENCE COMPANY, N.V., A NETHERLANDS ANTILLES CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
ALKOW REALTY, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, BERNARD FELSON AND KAREN MORAITIS REALTY, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEES
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A temporary mandatory injunction freezing $250,000 in sale proceeds to secure a brokerage commission claim was reversed because an action for money damages on an oral contract does not qualify for equitable relief merely because collectibility is uncertain.
An action for a brokerage commission is an action at law, not equity, and does not entitle the claimant to injunctive relief based solely on uncertainty of collecting a judgment.
[1] An action for a brokerage commission is an action at law, and uncertainty regarding collectibility of a judgment does not transform it into an equitable claim warranting…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The test of the inadequacy of a remedy at law is whether a judgment could be obtained, not whether, once obtained it will be collectible.”
Court explaining the proper standard for determining when equitable relief is available in lieu of legal remedies.
Brokers obtained a temporary mandatory injunction restraining the seller from disbursing $250,000 in commission proceeds from a real estate sale until…
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HERSEY, Judge.
In this dispute over a real estate broker’s commission, appellee-brokers obtained a temporary mandatory injunction restraining the seller (appellant) from disbursing $250,000 (the amount of commission in controversy) from the proceeds of the sale until further order of the court, which injunction occasioned the present appeal from a non-final order. The order is plainly wrong. This was an action to recover money damages upon a claim of breach of an oral contract to pay money, that is: a commission. Such a cause of action does not entitle the claimant to equitable relief simply because the complaint alleges uncertainty of collectibility of a judgment if a fund of money is permitted to be disbursed. The test of the inadequacy of a remedy at law is whether a judgment could be obtained, not whether, once obtained it will be collectible. Oxford International Bank and Trust, Ltd. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 374 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). (We disagree that Oxford should be as narrowly applied as appellees contend.) An action for a brokerage commission is an action at law. Lake Placid Holding Co. v. Paperone, 414 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982).
An action at law is not transformed to one in equity simply by requesting an injunction. Supreme Service Station Corp. v. Telecre-dit Service Center, Inc., 424 So. 2d 844 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).
Either prejudgment attachment or garnishment, with attendant safeguards, may be available to appellees under these circumstances; injunctive relief is not.
We reverse.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
DOWNEY and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
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Weinstein v. Yoram Aisenberg, 758 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)…1 So. 2d 583, 585 (Pla. 3d DCA 1966). Many district court of appeal cases have held that a court may not grant the equitable relief of an injunction incident to an action at law, such as conversion. See St. Lawrence Co., N.V. v. Alkow Realty, Inc., 453 So. 2d 514, 515 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Lopez-Ortiz v. Centrust Sav. Bank, 546 So. 2d 1126, 1127 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Digaeteno v. Perotti, 374 So. 2d 1015, 1016 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). The locution appearing in the older cases is that an action for equitable relief,…
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Finkelstein v. Se. Bank, N.A., 490 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…n order to secure payment of a judgment which might subsequently be entered against garnishees. The district court in Barton based its order upon the Florida prejudgment garnishment statute. This court held in St. Lawrence Co. v. Alkow Realty, Inc., 453 So. 2d 514 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) that injunctive relief will not lie where its purpose is to restrain a seller from disbursing sale proceeds when an adequate remedy at law exists. See also Acquafredda v. Messina, 408 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982) which held tha…
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Mary Dee's, Inc. v. Tartamella, 492 So. 2d 815 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…dy at law because they could obtain a money judgment against the defendants. The test of inadequacy of remedy at law is whether a judgment can be obtained, not whether, once obtained, it will be collectible. See St. Lawrence Company v. Alkow Realty, 453 So. 2d 514 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). See generally Finkelstein v. Southeast Bank, 490 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). We agree with the reasoning of the court in Acquafredda v. Messina, 408 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), where it stated: This was a traditional a…
Previewing 3 of 14 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Oxford Int'l Bank & Tr., Ltd. v. Merrill Lynch, 374 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Harris v. Fla. Dep't OF Labor & Emp. Sec., 374 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Lake Placid Holding Co. v. Elissa Landi Paparone, 414 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)
- Supreme Serv. Station Corp. v. Telecredit Serv. Ctr., Inc., 424 So. 2d 844 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)