[MM_Access_Decision access='false']

1. Defendant (the promisor) made a misrepresentation of a material fact;,
2. Defendant should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of plaintiff (the promisee) or a third person;
3. Defendant’s misrepresentation induces such action or forbearance by plaintiff or a third person; and
4. Plaintiff suffers a detriment caused by reliance on the misrepresentation.

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']

1. Defendant (the promisor) made a misrepresentation of a material fact;,
2. Defendant should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of plaintiff (the promisee) or a third person;
3. Defendant’s misrepresentation induces such action or forbearance by plaintiff or a third person; and
4. Plaintiff suffers a detriment caused by reliance on the misrepresentation.

Claims for equitable and promissory estoppel differ in that promissory estoppel applies to the promisor’s representation of future acts and equitable estoppel addresses existing events. See Crown Life Ins. Co. v. McBride, 517 So. 2d 660, 661-662 (Fla. 1987).

---

FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Supreme Court: DK Arena, Inc. v. EB Acquisitions I, LLC, 112 So. 3d 85, 93 (Fla. 2013); W.R. Grace and Co. v. Geodata Servs., Inc., 547 So.2d 919, 924 (Fla. 1989).

First District: Scott v. James A. Jones Constr. Co., 315 So. 3d 767, 769 (Fla. 1st DCA 2021); W.R. Townsend Contracting, Inc. v. Jensen Civil Constr., Inc., 728 So. 2d 297, 302 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).

Second District: FCCI Ins. Co. v. Cayce’s Excavation, Inc., 901 So. 2d 248, 251 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005).

Third District: JN Auto Collection, Corp. v. U.S. Sec. Ins. Co., 59 So.3d 256, 258 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011); Coral Reef Drive Land Dev., LLC v. Duke Realty Ltd. P’ship, 45 So. 3d 897 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010).

Fourth District: Walker v. State, 193 So. 3d 946, 953 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016); Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC v. Delvar, 180 So. 3d 1190, 1194 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).

Fifth District: Warren v. Dep’t of Admin., 554 So. 2d 568, 570 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989).

FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS

Eleventh Circuit: Winnie v. Infectious Disease Assocs., P.A., 750 F. App’x 954, 963-64 (11th Cir. 2018); Maccaferri Gabions, Inc. v. Dynateria Inc., 91 F.3d 1431, 1443 (11th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1167 (1997).

Southern District: Griffin v. Motorsport Games Inc., No. 24-CV-21929, 2025 WL 1330191, at *4-5 (S.D. Fla. May 7, 2025); Krieger v. TD Bank, N.A., 2023 WL 3778254, *2 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 14, 2023); Vanguard Plastic Surgery, PLLC v. UnitedHealthcare Ins. Co., 2023 WL 2257961, *8 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 28, 2023); A&E Adventures LLC v. Intercard, Inc., 529 F.Supp.3d 1333, 1360-61 (S.D. Fla. 2021).

Middle District: Evanston Ins. Co. v. Proplogix, LLC, No. 8:24-CV-2715-VMC-CPT, 2025 WL 1167828, at *7 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2025); Myers v. 3073 Horseshoe Drive, LLC, No. 2:23-CV-95-JES-NPM, 2024 WL 4040834, at *1-2 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 4, 2024); Remembrance Grp., Inc. v. Centazzo, 2022 WL 1406673, *6 (M.D. Fla. May 4, 2022); Crmsuite Corp. v. Gen. Motors Co., 2022 WL 603795, *7 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 1, 2022).

Northern District: Sepulveda v. Sepulveda, No. 1:20-CV-265-AW-GRJ, 2021 WL 2545474, at *3 (N.D. Fla. May 21, 2021); Christian Tennant Custom Homes of Fla., Inc. v. EBSCO Gulf Coast Dev., Inc., No. 3:15-CV-585-MCR-CJK, 2017 WL 4102458, at *13 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 15, 2017).

FLORIDA RULES

Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (general rules of pleading; estoppel as affirmative defense)

FLORIDA REFERENCES

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552 (1976)

---

2 Defenses to Claim for Estoppel, Promissory

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(p), Fla. Stat. (four years) (Florida courts have not addressed the applicable statute of limitations for estoppel claims).

(3) A party’s truthful statement of present intentions regarding a future act does not give rise to a claim for promissory estoppel. W. R. Grace and Co. v. Geodata Servs., Inc., 547 So. 2d 919, 924 (Fla. 1989).

(4) The promise must be definite in time and terms. W. R. Grace and Co. v. Geodata Servs., Inc., 547 So. 2d 919, 924 (Fla. 1989), citing Hygema v. Markley, 137 Fla. 1, 187 So. 373, 380 (1939).

(5) Promissory estoppel cannot be employed to circumvent the statute of frauds, unless the plaintiff can show “the promise is definite, of a substantial nature, and established by clear and convincing evidence’’. W. R. Grace and Co. v. Geodata Servs., Inc., 547 So. 2d 919, 920 (Fla. 1989); OJ Commerce, LLC v. Ashley Furniture Indus., Inc., 359 F.Supp.3d 1163, 1174 (S.D. Fla. 2018).

(6) Reliance is unreasonable and unjustifiable when the promisee enters into a subsequent written contract with the promisor which contains an integration clause. Barnes v. Burger King Corp., 932 F. Supp. 1420, 1441 (S.D. Fla. 1996).

(7) The promisee cannot base an estoppel claim against the state for mistaken statements of law. See Warren v. Dept. of Admin., 554 So. 2d 568, 571 n.1 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989).

(8) The promisee had knowledge of, or reasonable ability to learn, the true facts. See Irvine v. Cargill Investor Servs., Inc., 799 F.2d 1461, 1463 (11th Cir. 1986).

(9) The representation must be definite and specific, and not susceptible to multiple interpretations. See Irvine v. Cargill Investor Servs., Inc., 799 F.2d 1461, 1463 (11th Cir. 1986); Griffin v. Motorsport Games Inc., No. 24-CV-21929, 2025 WL 1330191, at *5 (S.D. Fla. May 7, 2025).

.

(10) The doctrine of promissory estoppel “is unavailable when there is a written contract between the parties covering the disputed promises.” Hartel v. Unity Recovery Ctr., Inc., 2017 WL 1291952, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 26, 2017); Burillo de Larrea v. Golden Yacht Charters, Inc., 2022 WL 1135695, *6-7 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 18, 2022).

[/MM_Access_Decision]