Accounting
1Elements and Case Citations
[MM_Access_Decision access='false']
- Plaintiff and defendant share a fiduciary relationship or entered a complex transaction; and
- A remedy at law is inadequate.
Subscribers To The Florida Litigation Guide Can See:
- The rest of the elements for this cause of action;
- The citations to the most recent state and federal court cases citing the cause of action;
- The statute of limitations; and
- The defenses to this cause of action.
Click Here To See A Sample Chapter From The Guide
Subscribe to The Florida Litigation Guide To Access Everything!
[/MM_Access_Decision] [MM_Access_Decision access='true']- Plaintiff and defendant share a fiduciary relationship or entered a complex transaction; and
- A remedy at law is inadequate.
FLORIDA STATE COURTS
Third District: Bankers Trust Realty Inc. v. Kluger, 672 So. 2d 897, 898 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).
First District: Heritage Paper Co. v. Farah, 440 So. 2d 389, 391 n.2 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983).
Fourth District: Daddono v. Miele, 69 So. 3d 320 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).
FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS
Eleventh Circuit: Tatum v. SFN Grp., Inc., 698 Fed.Appx. 1000, 1009 (11th Cir. 2017); Am. United Life Ins., Co. v. Martinez, 480 F.3d 1043, 1071 (11th Cir. 2007).
Southern District: RLI Ins. Co. v. Fla. Beauty Express, Inc., 2022 WL 19264235, *2 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 1, 2022); La Dolfina S.A., LLC v. Meeker, 2022 WL 6507718, *10 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 19, 2022); VSI Sales, LLC v. DiSimone, 2022 WL 309375, *13 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 1, 2022); Friedman v. Hammer, NO.: 19-cv-62481-PCH/McALILEY, 2020 WL 2559549, at *5 (S.D. Fla. May 20, 2020).
Middle District: In Dime We Tr., RLT v. Armadillo Distrib. Enters., Inc., 2022 WL 4461805, *8 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 10, 2022); Optimus MSO II Inc. v. Simply Healthcare Plans, Inc., No. 20-CV-22967, 2020 WL 6047486, at *5 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 13, 2020).
Northern District: PC Cellular, Inc. v. Sprint Solutions, Inc., No. 5:14–cv–00237–RS–GRJ, 2014 WL 5772134, at *4 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 5, 2014).
2 Defenses to Claim for Accounting
(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.
(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(k), Fla. Stat. (four years).
(3) Simple transactions concerning small amounts of money do not give rise to claim for accounting. See Bankers Trust Realty Inc. v. Kluger, 672 So. 2d 897, 898 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); PC Cellular, Inc. v. Sprint Solutions, Inc., No. 5:14–cv–00237–RS–GRJ, 2014 WL 5772134, at *4 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 5, 2014)(holding “plaintiff has not pled sufficient facts to show that the transactions are so complex as to warrant an equitable accounting”).
(4) Agency relationship does not allow agent to bring accounting claim against principal. See Kee v. National Reserve Life Ins. Co., 918 F.2d 1538, 1541 (11th Cir. 1990).
(5) One must prove entitlement to an accounting before an accounting may be performed. Soler v. Secondary Holdings, Inc., 832 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002).
(6) An accounting is a two-stage proceeding, which first requires the establishment of the right or basis for an accounting, followed by the actual accounting. See, e.g., Heritage Paper Co. v. Farah, 440 So. 2d 389, 391 n. 2 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (discussing the procedure involved in an “action for accounting”); A-1 Truck Rentals, Inc. v. Vilberg, 222 So. 2d 442, 444 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969) (same); F.A. Chastain Constr., Inc. v. Pratt, 146 So. 2d 910, 913 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962) (same).