Aldana v. Colonial Palms Plaza, Ltd. – Case Brief
Aldana v. Colonial Palms Plaza, Ltd., 591 So.2d 953 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).
Facts: Colonial Palms Plaza (D) leased space in a shopping center to Abby Cakes. The contract provided that Colonial would pay Abby Cakes a construction allowance of up to $11,250 after the completion of certain improvements.
Prior to completion, Abby Cakes assigned its rights to the first $8,000 to Aldana (P) in exchange for a loan for $8,000 to finance the improvements. The terms of the original loan contained an anti-assignment clause. Aldana recorded the assignment and sent notice to Colonial.
D ignored the assignment and paid the $8,000 to Abby Cakes. P sued D to recover the $8,000 per the assignment. The trial court granted D’s motion for summary judgment and awarded attorneys fees and costs to D and P appealed.
Issue: Does an assignment of a lease cover an assignment of the right to receive compensation under a construction allowance?
Holding and Rule: No. An assignment of a lease does not cover an assignment of the right to receive compensation under a construction allowance.
A prohibition against assignment of a contract will prevent assignment of contractual duties, but will not prevent assignment of the right to receive payments due unless the circumstances indicate the contrary. The court held that in this case D was given notice of the assignment and that fixed accountability of the debtor to the assignee. The court held that D was therefore bound by the assignment and summary judgment was improper.
Disposition: Reversed and remanded.
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