Generally, an account stated is "an agreement based upon prior transactions between the parties with respect to the items composing the account, and the balance due, if any, in favor of one of the parties.". 2023 The Florida Bar. This is a strong defense as the person or entity forfeits its consensual partnership in the contract. 2d 736, 737 (Fla. 1953). The first element should be obvious. 3d 955, 960 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (emphasis added). Most of the time, it is pled as an affirmative defense incorrectly. This means that if the contract in violates state or federal law, then it is automatically barred. Impossibility of performance. v. Domino, 896 So. Click here for a more detailed description of how I, asan experienced Florida debt attorney, can defend your debt collection lawsuit, credit card lawsuit against our client that violated the statute of limitations and was dismissed, using our convenient website contact form, Plaintiffs failure to attach the contract or other necessary paperwork to the lawsuit complaint, Plaintiffs failure to comply with court rules regarding how they must present their claim and describe, An out-of-state Plaintiffs failure to post the necessary bond with the clerk of the court, Being sued on credit card charges that you did not authorize: if you did not authorize the charges (and are not a co-signer for someone elses account), you are not responsible for the charges, Being sued for late fees, over limit charges, collection fees, attorney fees, court costs and other fees and charges, unless those charges are explicitly allowed under the contract or Florida law. Stated differently, [s]ettlement proceeds must be set off against the jury verdict where defendants [the settling defendant and non-settling defendant] are liable for the same injury. Yellow Cab Co. of St. Petersburg, Inc. v. Betsey, 696 So.2d 769, 772 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). As a general rule, time is considered to be of the essence where an agreement specifies, or where such may be determined from the nature of the subject matter of the contract, or where treating time as nonessential would produce a hardship, or where notice has been given to the defaulting party requiring that the contract be performed within a stated time, which must be a reasonable time according to the circumstances. Sublime, Inc. v. Boardmans Inc., 849 So. A prior breach can also be implicitly waived by the parties conduct. In order to be successful, the plaintiff must prove all three elements mentioned above. Subscribe to The Florida Litigation Guide To Access Everything! Section 100 Oaths A settlement is an agreement between two parties in a lawsuit to resolve their dispute without a trial. Address1701 N. Federal Highway, Suite 4Boca Raton, FL 33432, Email (function(){var ml="scte.%omw0gl4unriaf",mi="B?3316>0=;2A2@6>5<9:=;@0A>6;A84167",o="";for(var j=0,l=mi.length;j