Quantum Meruit
1Elements and Case Citations
[MM_Access_Decision access='false']
- Absence of an express agreement;
- Plaintiff provided a benefit in the form of goods and services accepted by the defendant;
- Under ordinary circumstances a reasonable person would reasonably expect to pay for such benefit;
- Defendant failed to pay for the benefit; and
- Damages.
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[/MM_Access_Decision] [MM_Access_Decision access='true']- Absence of an express agreement;
- Plaintiff provided a benefit in the form of goods and services accepted by the defendant;
- Under ordinary circumstances a reasonable person would reasonably expect to pay for such benefit;
- Defendant failed to pay for the benefit; and
- Damages.
Commerce P’ship 8098 Ltd. P’ship v. Equity Contracting Co., 695 So.2d 383, 386-87 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (discussing in detail relationship between claims for quasi-contract and quantum meruit).
FLORIDA STATE COURTS
Supreme Court: Moncreif v. Hall, 63 So.2d 640, 642 (Fla. 1953).
First District: Daake v. Decks N Such Marine, Inc., 201 So. 3d 179, 181 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016); W.R. Townsend Contracting, Inc. v. Jensen Civil Const., Inc., 728 So.2d 297, 305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
Second District: Morgan & Morgan, P.A. v. McKean, 60 So.3d 575, 578 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011).
Third District: Doral Collision Ctr., 2022 WL 2057573, *3-4 (Fla. 3d DCA June 8, 2022); Daniel Levine & Co. Realtors v. Beach Enter. Ltd., 549 So.2d 1131, 1132 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).
Fourth District: F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Assocs. LLC v. B&B Site Dev., Inc., 311 So. 3d 39, 48 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021); Hull & Co., Inc. v. Thomas, 834 So.2d 904, 906-07 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003).
Fifth District: Hallowes v. Bedard, 877 So.2d 953, 957 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004); Osteen v. Morris, 481 So.2d 1287, 1289-90 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986).
FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS
Eleventh Circuit: Martin Energy Services, LLC v. M/V Bravante IX, 733 Fed. Appx. 503,506 (11th Cir. 2018); Lucas Ent. Grp., LLC v. Robert W. Woodruff Arts Ctr., Inc., 720 F. App’x. 512, 515 (11th Cir. 2017).
Southern District: Neurosurgical Consultants of S. Fla., LLC v. UnitedHealthcare Ins. Co., 2023 WL 3157504, *2 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 27, 2023); Kashwise Glob. Funding Sols, Inc. v. Riot Blockchain, Inc., 2021 WL 4973073, *3-4 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 12, 2021); Fla. Emergency Physicians Kang & Assocs., M.D., Inc. v. United Healthcare of Fla., Inc., 526 F. Supp. 3d 1282, 1302-03 (S.D. Fla. 2021); Merchant One, Inc. v. TLO, Inc., No. 19-CV-23719, 2020 WL 248608, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 16, 2020).
Middle District: Surgery Ctr. of Viera, LLC v. UnitedHealthcare Ins. Co., 2023 WL 2078554, *4 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 17, 2023); Franklin L. Firm, P.A. v. Stacey, No. 8:19-CV-1839-T-35AAS, 2020 WL 836273, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 20, 2020); Surgery Ctr. of Viera, LLC v. Cigna Health & Life Ins. Co., No. 619CV2110ORL22DCI, 2020 WL 686026, at *7 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 11, 2020)(“Florida law prescribes four elements for quantum meruit and unjust enrichment claims”).
Northern District: Martin Energy Services, LLC v. M/V BRAVANTE IX, 233 F. Supp. 3d 1269, 1279 (N.D. Fla. 2017); Walton Constr. Co., LLC v. Corus Bank, No. 4:10–CV–137–SPM–WCS, 2011 WL 2938366, at *5 (N.D. Fla. July 21, 2011).
2 Defenses to Claim for Quantum Meruit
(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) An express agreement negates the “legal fiction” of an implied contract, precluding the application of the quantum meruit doctrine. Surgery Ctr. of Viera, LLC v. Cigna Health & Life Ins. Co., No. 619CV2110ORL22DCI, 2020 WL 686026, at *7 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 11, 2020); Daake v. Decks N Such Marine, Inc., 201 So.3d 179, 180-81 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016);W.R. Townsend Contracting, Inc. v. Jensen Civil Const., Inc., 728 So.2d 297, 305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
(4) Quantum meruit damages cannot be awarded when an enforceable contract exists. Martin Energy Services, LLC v. M/V BRAVANTE IX, 233 F. Supp. 3d 1269, 1279-81 (N.D. Fla. Jan. 26, 2017); Oakwood Ins. Co. v. N. Am. Risk Servs., Inc., No: 6:18-cv-437-Orl-31LRH, 2019 WL 2211110, at *4 (M.D. Fla. May 22, 2019).