PINEWOOD PLUMBING SUPPLY, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
CENTENNIAL CONSTRUCTION, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1986-06-03
No. 85-2535
Before HENDRY, NESBITT and JOR-GENSON, JJ.
489 So. 2d 216 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Pinewood Plumbing Supply sued prime contractor Centennial Construction for nonpayment after its subcontractor failed to pay, but Pinewood did not comply with statutory notice requirements under Florida's mechanics lien statute. The court affirmed summary judgment against Pinewood, holding that delivery to the construction site does not create privity exempting Pinewood from notice requirements, and that no equitable remedy is available when statutory procedures exist.


Holding

The court held that delivery to the construction site does not establish privity, eliminating the notice requirement exemption; that equitable relief is unavailable when an adequate legal remedy exists under the statute; and that an equitable lien requires a showing of misrepresentation, fraud, or a special right, which Pinewood failed to allege.


Headnotes

[1] Privity with a prime contractor is not established merely by delivering materials directly to the construction site.

[2] Failure to comply with statutory notice requirements for a claim against a prime contractor precludes recovery under the statute.

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Key Quotes

“The mere fact that Pinewood delivered its goods directly to Centennial's construction site does not put Pinewood in privity with Centennial.”

Establishes that physical delivery alone does not create privity sufficient to exempt parties from statutory notice requirements.

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Facts & Procedural History

Pinewood contracted with subcontractor M.S.I. to deliver plumbing fixtures for a government project. After delivery, M.S.I. failed to pay. Pinewood su…

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Opinion of the Court
NESBITT, Judge.

NESBITT, Judge.

Pinewood Plumbing Supply, Inc. (Pinewood) appeals from an adverse summary judgment. We affirm.

Pinewood contracted with Minority Systems, Inc. (M.S.I.), a subcontractor, to deliver plumbing fixtures for a government project. After Pinewood delivered, M.S.I. failed to pay. Pinewood brought suit directly against the prime contractor, Centen nial Construction, Inc. (Centennial), under section 255.05, Florida Statutes (1983). Pinewood concedes that it failed to timely notice Centennial pursuant to section 255.-05(2).1

First, Pinewood contends that it is in privity with Centennial and therefore the notice requirements of section 255.05(2) are inapplicable. We disagree. The mere fact that Pinewood delivered its goods directly to Centennial’s construction site does not put Pinewood in privity with Centennial. Cf. Tompkins Land Co., Inc. v. Edge, 341 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) (subcontractor did not come into privity with owner by delivering a fire hydrant directly to owner, nor by the owner directing placement of the hydrant).

Second, Pinewood argues that even if it is foreclosed from a breach of contract claim because it failed to give timely notice to Centennial, it is still entitled to recover in equity. Section 255.05 provides for an adequate remedy at law. Pinewood’s failure to comply with the notice requirements does not make the remedy inadequate. Thus Pinewood was not entitled to equitable relief. See American Surety v. Murphy, 13 So. 2d 442 (Fla.1943) (where a surety failed to file a breach of contract claim against a deceased’s estate within the statutory period, losing its otherwise enforceable legal remedy, equity lacked jurisdiction to compel specific performance absent a showing of mistake, fraud, accident, or circumstances beyond surety’s control); see also Liza Danielle, Inc. v. Jamko, Inc., 408 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) (legal remedy for breach of contract was not made inadequate by lessee’s insufficient efforts to prove damages at trial and therefore lessee was not entitled to equitable relief).

Finally, Pinewood contends that the court should have enforced an equitable lien against the contractor. This, too, is an erroneous contention because Pinewood failed to allege misrepresentation, fraud or any right of a special nature. Largo Hospital Owners, Ltd. v. International Glass and Manufacturing Co., Inc., 410 So. 2d 518, 522 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982) (materialman might be entitled to an equitable lien where he failed to perfect a mechanic’s lien but only where: a) if it is against property, materialman shows misrepresentation or fraud; or b) if it is against unexpended construction funds held in trust, material-man demonstrates “a right of a special nature”). Accordingly, the order under review is

Affirmed.

. Section 255.05(2), Florida Statutes (1983) reads:

(2) A claimant, except a laborer, who is not in privity with the contractor and who has not received payment for his labor, materials, or supplies shall, within 45 days after beginning to furnish labor, materials, or supplies for the prosecution of the work, furnish the contractor with a notice that he intends to look to the bond for protection. A claimant who is not in privity with the contractor and who has not received payment for his labor, materials or supplies shall, within 90 days after perform-anee of the labor or after complete delivery of the materials or supplies, deliver to the contractor and to the surety written notice of the performance of the labor or delivery of the materials or supplies and of the nonpayment. No action for the labor, materials, or supplies may be instituted against the contractor or the surety unless both notices have been given. No action shall be instituted against the contractor or the surety on the bond after 1 year from the performance of the labor or completion of delivery of the materials or supplies.

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Citator

Cited By

  • Harvesters Grp., Inc. v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 527 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)
    …ert. denied, 194 So. 2d 617 (Fla.1966); see Gergora v. R.L. Lapp Forming, Inc., 619 F. 2d 387 (5th Cir.1980). Cf. National Gypsum Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 417 So. 2d 254 (Fla.1982); Pinewood Plumbing Supply Co., Inc. v. Centennial Constr., Inc., 489 So. 2d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). In United States ex rel. Light & Power Utilities Corp. v. Liles Constr. Co., 440 F. 2d 474 (5th Cir.1971), the court considered the purpose of the notice provision in 40 U.S.C.A. § 270b(a), a provision similar to section 255.05(…
  • Cap. Constr. Servs. v. Rubinson, 541 So. 2d 748 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
    …(Pla. 4th DCA 1976) (quoting First Nat’l Bank of Tampa v. Southern Lumber & Supply Co., 106 Fla. 821, 145 So. 594 (1932)); Warshaw v. Pyms, 266 So. 2d 355, 358 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972). See also Pinewood Plumbing Supply, Inc. v. Centennial Constr., Inc., 489 So. 2d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (mere delivery of goods to construction site does not establish privity between subcontractor and contractor). Because no privity existed between Mrs. Rubinson and Capital, Capital’s failure to serve a notice of claim to Mrs. Rub…
  • Sharpe, Inc. v. Neil Spear, Inc., 611 So. 2d 66 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …e was not in privity with appellant and that they failed to provide the proper notices. We find the statute to be clear and unambiguous; any action against the contractor is [*68] precluded. (See Pinewood Plumbing Supply v. Centennial Constr., Inc., 489 So. 2d 216 (Fla.3d DCA 1986), where the third district held that a subcontractor which was not in privity with a public contractor was precluded from bringing an action in equity where it failed to utilize its adequate remedy at law by failing to give the requ…

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