Wallace v. Odham

579 So. 2d 171, 1991 WL 50589
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 11, 1991
Docket89-2356, 90-0938
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 579 So. 2d 171 (Wallace v. Odham) 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
Wallace v. Odham, 579 So. 2d 171, 1991 WL 50589 (Fla. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

579 So.2d 171 (1991)

Milton J. WALLACE, As Trustee, Appellant,
v.
J. Brailey ODHAM, Appellee.

Nos. 89-2356, 90-0938.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

April 11, 1991.
Rehearing Denied May 21, 1991.

Douglas C. Spears of Smathers, Pleus & Adams, Orlando, and Richard L. Allen of Wallace, Engels, Pertnoy, Solowsky & Allen, P.A., Miami, for appellant.

Charles Evans Davis, Orlando, for appellee.

PETERSON, Judge.

Milton J. Wallace appeals an adverse judgment notwithstanding the verdict and an order in the alternative granting J. Brailey Odham a new trial. We vacate both orders of the trial court, reinstate the jury verdict, and remand for judgment to be entered in favor of Milton J. Wallace, as trustee.

*172 The negotiations for a real estate listing agreement between Wallace, owner of a 115-acre parcel of vacant land, and Odham, a real estate broker, were prolonged and complicated, but it is sufficient to indicate that they entered into a written "exclusive right of sale listing agreement" on January 23, 1987. The agreement provided that Odham was to perform rezoning and utility acquisition services in addition to the normal duty of finding a purchaser for the $3.8 million list price. Wallace agreed to pay a commission of ten percent of the gross sales price for Odham's services at the time a sales transaction was closed. The agreement provided that, in exchange for his additional services, Odham would receive a higher than normal percentage of the commission in the event of a co-broker sale.

Odham admirably performed the services, it appears, and ultimately the Orange County School Board met on June 10, 1988, to consider entering a purchase agreement for a portion of the lands. Prior to the day of the meeting, and as a result of a dispute between Wallace and Odham over the manner in which the gross sales price was to be computed (and therefore directly affecting Odham's commission), Wallace had taken over negotiations with the school board attorney which previously had been conducted by Odham. The basic difference in the computation of the sale price was that Odham wanted the gross sales price to include Wallace's pro rata share of the estimated cost of improvements such as roads, a retention pond, sewer lines, and other government requirements now commonly referred to as "infrastructure." Odham had structured the sale so that estimated improvement costs would be "shared" by Wallace pro rata, according to the proportion between the unsold and the sold land, and deducted from the sales proceeds. Wallace wanted the gross sale price to reflect the reduced price after deducting the estimated costs of infrastructure and a $100,000 price reduction Wallace gave for potential cost overruns of the infrastructure. Wallace made the reduction because he wished to have no part in or liability with respect to the construction of the improvements. While the infrastructure would be of indirect benefit to Wallace's unsold portion of the original 115 acres in that it enhanced the value of the unsold portion, at trial the school board attorney testified essentially that the improvements were necessary to the school board even if Wallace's remaining land did not exist. He testified that he would have to review the improvements to determine whether the board could have lived without one or two of them.

Additionally, a conflict had arisen between Odham and Wallace soon after the listing agreement was entered because of Odham's persistent demand that the agreement be extended for four years so that he would realize the commissions for the sale of that portion of the 115 acres that was not purchased by the school board. In fact, during negotiations for the original listing agreement, Odham had sought to list the property for a term longer than the 18-month term agreed upon by the parties.

Having learned that Wallace and the school board's attorney revised the proposed sale contract so that it reflected Wallace's desired reductions, at the school board meeting held to consider approval of the contract, Odham appeared in his own behalf and made statements of the following import:

(1) That the form of the contract as structured by Wallace reduced Odham's commission by $69,000;
(2) That Wallace was transferring his originally proposed cost of the infrastructure to the school board;
(3) That Wallace was going to make $790,000 profit on the deal;
(4) That Wallace would defer tax payments to "Uncle Sam of 230-some thousand dollars" at a rate of thirty-three percent.
(5) That "I would not be a party to that contract because it has the effect of deferring and if he doesn't sell the other part for years, of avoiding the payment of that tax that's due on the sale now, in addition to my commission problem."
(6) That the contract should reflect that Wallace was receiving additional consideration *173 "as a dollar value [for the infrastructure costs] or [the school board] should destroy the sale and condemn the property and I won't get a dime."
(7) That he, Odham, was not a liar and that he would not be "a part of being a liar" and he would not be "a part of it."
(8) That Odham was not opposed to structuring an agreement to avoid taxes or defer taxes if it was "legitimate."
(9) That in his opinion the school board could "be in trouble as a public body" if the contract is executed "because it avoids taxes," and that they "shouldn't be a part of that," and that he was "not going to be a part of that."

After assurance by the school board attorney that the board would not be entering the contract "illegally," Wallace's desired version of the form of contract was executed, and the transaction closed immediately after the meeting. At trial, an issue arose as to when Wallace learned about Odham's statements to the school board since Wallace was not present at the meeting. Wallace contended that he learned about it after the contract with the school board was executed.

In June 1988, Wallace filed his complaint for a declaratory judgment to determine whether the 10-percent commission should be based on the sale price or on the sale price plus his share of the estimated cost of the infrastructure improvements. He added to the complaint a count for breach of fiduciary duty alleging that Odham breached his duty through his remarks at the board meeting, and requested the court to rescind the listing contract and declare that Odham was not entitled to a commission for the sale. He also added counts for breach of contract, alleging that Odham tried to hinder the sale and to extort a higher commission, and for tortious interference with business relations. Finally, he alleged that Odham's comments to the board constituted an abandonment of the listing agreement, asked the court to rescind the listing agreement, and requested the court to declare that Odham was not entitled to a commission.

Odham answered and counterclaimed. He alleged that the consideration for the sale was $2,168,855 which included the estimated cost of improvements to the school board property that benefited Wallace's remaining property and demanded judgment for commissions in the amount of $216,885. He also alleged that he performed extensive and valuable services including: rezoning and planning, and redesigning and obtaining approval for a use plan that saved five acres from conservation status.

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Bluebook (online)
579 So. 2d 171, 1991 WL 50589, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallace-v-odham-fladistctapp-1991.