JSL Const. Co. v. Levy

994 So. 2d 394, 2008 WL 4643302
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 22, 2008
Docket3D07-2831
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 994 So. 2d 394 (JSL Const. Co. v. Levy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JSL Const. Co. v. Levy, 994 So. 2d 394, 2008 WL 4643302 (Fla. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

994 So.2d 394 (2008)

J.S.L. CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, a Florida corporation, and Martin L. Espinosa, individually, Appellants,
v.
Eliyahu LEVY and Ramona Levy, Appellees.

No. 3D07-2831.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

October 22, 2008.

*395 Pepe & Nemire and Thomas F. Pepe, Coral Gables, for appellants.

Atkinson, Diner, Stone, Mankuta & Ploucha, Margaret Z. Villella, and David B. Mankuta, Ft. Lauderdale, for appellees.

Before RAMIREZ, WELLS, and SALTER, JJ.

WELLS, Judge.

J.S.L. Construction Company and its president, Martin L. Espinosa, (collectively J.S.L.), appeal from a final judgment discharging its Chapter 713 claim of lien; awarding damages of $50,974 to homeowners Eliyahu and Ramona Levy for J.S.L.'s purported breaches of warranty, and awarding J.S.L. $50,714 on its breach of contract claim against the Levys. We agree with J.S.L. on what amounts to the company's two most significant claims, and on that basis, reverse in part the order under review.

In December of 1996, J.S.L. entered into a written contract with the Levys pursuant to which J.S.L. was to construct the "shell" of a residence for $360,000, an amount later revised to $460,000. By agreement, non-shell work was to be performed by change orders for which J.S.L. was to be paid on a materials plus 5% overhead and profit basis. The contract also authorized the Levys to contract directly for work on the home and to make direct payments to subcontractors for work performed.

Under the terms of the parties' agreement, J.S.L., among other things, was to receive $50,000 when the shell was completed. But by the time construction of the shell neared completion, it became apparent that the parties were not going to agree as to their remaining responsibilities, in significant part because of the Levys' *396 direct payments to subcontractors.[1] Despite these disagreements, on March 5, 1999, J.S.L. obtained a temporary certificate of occupancy so that the Levys could move into the home. However, J.S.L. continued to work on the home until May after which a final inspection was performed.

On July 8, 1999, J.S.L. recorded a claim of lien. In recognition of the Levys' entitlement to a credit for direct payments to subcontractors, J.S.L. noted in the lien that "there remains unpaid $184,839.00 minus that portion paid by Mr. and Mrs. Levy directly to subcontractors, the amount of which is unknown."[2] On August 18, 1999, the Levys filed a single count complaint to discharge J.S.L.'s lien claiming only that the amount claimed in the lien was "willfully exaggerated." J.S.L. counterclaimed seeking foreclosure of the lien and damages for breach of contract.

On July 13, 2000, the Levys amended their complaint to discharge J.S.L.'s lien to add claims for breach of contract and warranty; personal injury to their child;[3] slander of title; fraud; and negligence.[4] The gist of several of these new claims was that J.S.L. had not completed all of the contracted work in a workmanlike manner and that the Levys were entitled to set offs against the amount claimed due to cure defects in J.S.L.'s work.

In October of 2005, after literally years of continuances, this matter was finally set for trial. The uniform pretrial order issued by the trial court required the parties to file exhibit and witness lists, and instructed the parties that where experts were concerned, the parties were to provide all the information required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(b)(4)(A). See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(b)(4)(A) (stating in part that "a party may require any other party to identify each person whom the other party expects to call as an expert witness at trial and to state the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify, the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert is expected to testify, and a summary of the grounds for each opinion"). The order also warned that exhibits not listed on a party's exhibit list would not be admitted at trial and failure to comply with the expert witness disclosure would result in preclusion of expert testimony.

On January 5, 2006, some six plus years after construction of the Levys' home was completed and after two major hurricanes[5] had hit the area, the Levys sent statutory notice to J.S.L. expressing their intent to make a claim that lightweight concrete was missing from the roof of their home. See § 558.004, Fla. Stat. (2006).[6]*397 The Levys also advised J.S.L. that their investigation was continuing:

Mr. and Mrs. Levy are in the process of having the roof replaced on their home. The plan for the original roof as constructed by your client called for a lightweight concrete pour over the solid concrete. In the process of removing the old roof, it has just been discovered that the lightweight concrete was not provided.
Needless to say, this is a latent defect which could not have been discovered but for the removal of the JSL installed roof.
In accordance with F.S. 558.004, we are providing notice of this claim. The information, as set forth above, is the only information we have at this time. As our investigation continues, we will provide additional information as received....

This notice did not indicate that the roof had to be or was being replaced because of missing lightweight concrete or that there was any other shortcoming in J.S.L.'s work.

On February 28, 2006, less than two weeks before the scheduled trial week, the Levys filed a supplemental witness list naming Jon Watkins of Millenium Makeover, Inc. as a witness. This witness list was not only untimely but also failed to designate Watkins as an expert. It also did not indicate the nature of his testimony or otherwise comply with Rule 1.280(b)(4)(A).

On March 6, 2006, the first day of trial, the Levys sought leave to amend their complaint to add a claim for defects purportedly stemming from improper installation of a roof top railing. While J.S.L. anticipated an amendment based on the statutory notice it received regarding the missing lightweight concrete, it did not expect a claim about either additional defects or about replacement of the Levys' roof. Amendment was denied. Although amendment had been denied and the Levys had failed to comply with the court's pre-trial order regarding exhibit and witness lists, Jon Watkins, a witness listed for the first time on the Levys' late-filed supplemental witness list, was allowed to testify—over objection—that in addition to the fact that lightweight concrete called for in the architectural plans had not been installed, the roof top railings at the Levy home had not been properly installed. The Levys were also allowed to introduce a document provided by Watkins showing the cost to replace the roof as $42,387.

At the close of all evidence, the trial court found that J.S.L. had breached an implied warranty that the home would be fit for its intended purpose and awarded $50,947 in damages to the Levys on this claim, $42,387 of which represented the cost of replacing the roof. The court also found that although J.S.L.'s lien was unenforceable on statutory grounds, it was entitled to recover $50,714 from the Levys which according to the trial court was the difference between the $184,839 balance J.S.L. claimed was due under the contract and certain amounts paid directly by the Levys to subcontractors.[7]

J.S.L. claims that the court below erred in each of these determinations. We agree with two of these contentions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
994 So. 2d 394, 2008 WL 4643302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jsl-const-co-v-levy-fladistctapp-2008.