County
Civil Court: LANDLORD/TENANT – demand notice – 5-day
demand notice was legally sufficient as it set forth the exact amount due on
the date it was due – final judgment affirmed.
Seeds v. Kings Manor Estates, L.L.C.,
Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B (Fla. 6th Cir. App. Ct. Sept. 21, 2005).
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND
FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA
APPELLATE
DIVISION
CAROLYN SEEDS,
Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
vs. Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B
UCN522003AP005072XXXXCV
Appeal No. 05-0033AP-88A
KINGS MANOR ESTATES, L.L.C., UCN522005AP000033XXXXCV
Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
Appeal from Final Judgment
Pinellas County Court
Judge Walt Fullerton
Christopher S. Kuhn, Esquire
Attorney for Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Claudos G. Spears, Esquire
Attorney for Appellee/Cross-Appellant
ORDER
AND OPINION
THIS CAUSE came before the Court on appeal,
filed by Carolyn Seeds (Seeds), from the Final Judgment for Plaintiff, entered November
3, 2003, in favor of Kings Manor Estates, L.L.C. (Kings Manor), Appeal No.
03-5072AP-88B, and on appeal, filed by Kings Manor from the Order Requiring
Deposit, entered April 14, 2005, Appeal No. 05-0033AP-88A.[1] Upon review of the briefs, the record and
being otherwise fully advised, the Court affirms the trial court’s rulings as
set forth below.
The
underlying facts are not in dispute.
Pursuant to an oral lease, Seeds, a mobile home owner, leased a lot from
Kings Manor, a mobile home park owner. On
March 26, 2003, Kings Manor filed its Complaint against Seeds seeking to evict
Seeds for nonpayment of rent and to recover damages for unpaid rent. A Demand for Payment of Lot Rental Amount was
attached to the Complaint and demanded payment, within five days from the date
of delivery of the notice, “for a total
outstanding balance of $227.41.” (emphasis original). After
a hearing on the matter, the trial court entered Final Judgment for Plaintiff
in the amount of $ 227.41 for unpaid rent; the trial court declined to award
damages for uncut grass and illegally parked cars. The trial court withheld eviction of Seeds,
pending her payment of full rental fees and compliance with the rules and
regulations of Kings Manor.
In
reviewing the primary appeal, Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B, the Court finds that Seeds’
sole argument is that the 5-day demand notice was not proper or legally
sufficient as the notice did not contain the exact amount due on the date it
was due. Seeds cites to Kaplan v.
McCabe, 532 So.2d 1354, 1357 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) and Baker v.
Clifford-Mathew Inv. Co., 99 Fla. 1229, 1234 (Fla. 1930) in support of her
argument that a demand for rent by a landlord must set forth the exact amount
due on the date it is due. While both of
these cases are good law, their applicability to the facts of this case is in
doubt.
Unlike Kaplan,
where the demand notice requested rent payment for the months of November and
December without specifying an amount, and Baker, where there was not a
demand notice whatsoever, the demand notice sent by Kings Manor to Seeds
clearly specified an exact amount due on the date it was due, $ 227.41, which
was ultimately awarded by the trial court.
More importantly, this case is controlled by Florida Statutes, §
723.061(1)(a), which provides, in pertinent part:
If a mobile home owner or tenant, whichever is
responsible, fails to pay the lot rental amount when due and if the default
continues for 5 days after delivery of a written demand by the mobile home park
owner for payment of the lot rental amount, the park owner may terminate the
tenancy.
Hence, the Court finds no reversible
error as to this issue.
Likewise,
in addressing the issue raised in the second appeal, Appeal No. 05-0033AP-88A,
the Court finds no error in the trial court’s Order Requiring Deposit wherein
the trial court found that a delinquency existed and ordered Seeds to deposit the
undisputed rental amount in a timely fashion into the court registry. Upon the issuance of the mandate by the Clerk
of Court in this appeal, the trial court will have jurisdiction to fully
consider the parties’ respective arguments regarding the appropriate disbursement
of funds and whether Kings Manor is entitled to possession of the subject
rental lot.
Therefore,
it is,
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Appeal No. 05-0033AP-88A is
consolidated into Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B.
It is further
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Final Judgment
for Plaintiff and the Order Requiring Deposit are affirmed. It is further
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Appellee’s
Motion for Appellate Attorney’s Fees, filed in Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B, is
granted pursuant to Florida Statutes, § 723.068. The trial court shall determine the amount of
reasonable appellate attorney’s fees to be awarded. All other motions for attorney’s fees filed
in either appeal are denied.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, at St. Petersburg, Pinellas
County, Florida this ________ day of September 2005.
________________________________
DAVID A. DEMERS
Circuit Judge, Appellate Division
Copies furnished to:
Judge Walt Fullerton
Christopher S. Kuhn, Esquire
1266 South Pinellas Avenue
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689
Claudos G. Spears, Esquire
Post Office Box 21518
St. Petersburg, FL 33742
[1] The Order Requiring Deposit was entered upon the relinquishment of jurisdiction to the trial court by this Court in Appeal No. 03-5072AP-88B. The Court will consolidate these appeals, which both parties have requested, and address all issues in this Order and Opinion. The Court also notes that Kings Manor filed a petition for common-law writ of certiorari seeking review of the Order Requiring Deposit, Appeal No. 05-000032AP-88B, which the Court will dispose of by separate order.