ALLIANCE JJ MIAMI, LLC v. JOSIAH COATES

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed June 29, 2022.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-1766
Lower Tribunal No. 20-13216 SP
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Alliance JJ Miami, LLC,
Appellant,
vs.
Josiah Coates,
Appellee.
An appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Gisela
Cardonne Ely, Senior Judge.
Ainsworth + Clancy, PLLC, and Yamila Lorenzo, and Ryan M. Clancy,
for appellant.
Josiah Coates, in proper person.
Before LOGUE, MILLER, and GORDO, JJ.
MILLER, J.
Appellant, Alliance JJ Miami, LLC, challenges a final judgment entered
in favor of appellee, Josiah Coates, in the underlying small claims action. As
relevant to this appeal, the underlying dispute concerned whether Coates
was entitled to reimbursement of a $350 “early cancellation fee” assessed
purportedly pursuant to a martial arts membership agreement. Following a
bench trial, the lower tribunal determined that the fee was unauthorized
under the circumstances. Our de novo review of the contract yields the
identical conclusion. See D & E Real Est., LLC v. Vitto, 260 So. 3d 429, 433
(Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (“The interpretation of a contract is a question of law
which is . . . subject to de novo review.”). The agreement contains no early
cancellation fee provision. Instead, it only allows for the imposition of a $350
fee “[i]f the payment responsibilities stipulated in this contract are not
fulfilled.” Declining to engraft an additional obligation into the contract and
further finding that the conclusion by the trial court that the parties rescinded
the original term of the contract in favor of a month-to-month option,
rendering Coates compliant with payment obligations, is amply supported by
competent, substantial evidence, we affirm in all respects. See Fed. Nat’l
Mortg. Ass’n v. Morton, 196 So. 3d 428, 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (“[W]hether
a party has substantially complied with or performed a contract term remains
a question of fact.”).
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Affirmed.
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