Case Name: O'KON AND COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. Robert A. RIEDEL, Robert C. Riedel, John Bloxham Smith, Jr., and John G. Wurst, d/b/a RSW Hotel Associates, Ltd., a partnership, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1991-11-01
Citations: 588 So. 2d 1025
Docket Number: No. 90-3755
Parties: O’KON AND COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. Robert A. RIEDEL, Robert C. Riedel, John Bloxham Smith, Jr., and John G. Wurst, d/b/a RSW Hotel Associates, Ltd., a partnership, Appellees.
Judges: ERVIN, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 588
Pages: 1025–1030

Head Matter:
O’KON AND COMPANY, INC., Appellant, v. Robert A. RIEDEL, Robert C. Riedel, John Bloxham Smith, Jr., and John G. Wurst, d/b/a RSW Hotel Associates, Ltd., a partnership, Appellees.
No. 90-3755.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
Nov. 1, 1991.
Barry Richard of Roberts, Baggett, La-Face & Richard, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Daniel S. Dearing, Tallahassee, for appel-lees.

Opinion:
SMITH, Judge.
This is an appeal and cross appeal from a final judgment finding that O'Kon and Company (O'Kon) was not entitled to an architectural fee and that appel-lees/cross appellants (RSW) were not entitled to recover on their claim of slander of title for O'Kon's wrongful filing of a statutory mechanic's lien, or their claim that the lien was willfully exaggerated and fraudulent. We affirm the appeal and cross appeal, but remand to the trial court for an award of attorney's fees to RSW, as RSW successfully resisted O'Kon's claim for mechanic's lien and is entitled to a fee under section 713.29, Florida Statutes (1987). Allen v. Scott, 358 So.2d 1112 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).
O'Kon is a Georgia corporation engaged in the business of providing architectural and engineering services with respect to hotel projects. RSW proposed to construct a hotel on property in Leon County and contracted with O'Kon on December 1, 1984, for architectural, engineering and project management services. In the contract, O'Kon warranted that it was properly licensed to carry out the terms of the agreement. O'Kon's fee of $285,000 was made contingent upon RSW's obtaining a construction loan to build the project, except that $40,000 was paid initially.
O'Kon associated a Florida architect, Warren Dixon, and made him an officer of the corporation. According to Dixon and James O'Kon, Dixon prepared all of the plans for the project or directly supervised the preparation of plans. On the other hand, there was testimony that Steve Chick, an unlicensed Florida architect, worked on the plans.
Plans were prepared for the project, but the project was suspended in early 1985 due to the failure of RSW to obtain financing. About a year later, Kingswood Tallahassee Partners, Inc. (Kingswood) contracted to purchase the land from RSW. O'Kon was approached by RSW and Kingswood about continuation of the project on a smaller scale.
All of the parties entered into a separate agreement titled the "Tri-Party Agreement." Pursuant to the agreement, O'Kon was to receive an additional $30,000 for redesigning the hotel, amounting to an increase in its fee from $285,000 to $315,000. O'Kon was to receive, and did receive, $75,-000 immediately from Kingswood toward the fee. The Tri-Party Agreement also deleted two provisions from the original contract which had made O'Kon's fee contingent on financing. Paragraph 8 of the agreement provides in pertinent part:
If, after delivery of a complete set of revised plans and specifications, Kings-wood shall abandon the hotel project, the $75,000 paid by Kingswood to O'Kon shall accrue to the benefit of RSW, the contract shall be assigned by Kingswood back to RSW, and Kingswood shall have no further liability or obligations whatsoever to O'Kon or any of its consultants with respect thereto.
After a second set of plans was nearly complete, Kingswood backed out and the project came to a halt. RSW eventually sold the property to another party. While the sale was pending, O'Kon caused a claim of lien to be filed of record against RSW's property. Before the claim of lien was filed, O'Kon inquired of a lawyer in Florida whether the lien could be filed. The lawyer advised that it could be filed and did file it. However, the lawyer was unaware that O'Kon was unlicensed and had not registered in Florida, contrary to section 481.219(l)(b), Florida Statutes (1987), when he gave this advice and subsequently filed the $162,000 claim of lien.
At the closing of the sale of RSW's property encumbered by O'Kon's lien, RSW was compelled to "bond out" the claim of lien by transferring the lien from real property to security and depositing $191,260 into the registry of the circuit court.
Thereafter, RSW filed this action alleging that the claim of lien was invalid and constituted slander of title, and that the lien was willfully exaggerated, bringing into play the statutory remedies of section 713.31, Florida Statutes (1987). O'Kon counterclaimed to enforce its mechanic's lien and for breach of contract.
The lower court granted partial summary judgment for RSW on O'Kon's claim, holding that because O'Kon had not registered with and was not licensed by the Florida Department of Professional Regulation, Board of Architecture, it was precluded from recovering for professional architectural services in Florida, citing Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, Inc., 408 So.2d 229, 234-235 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). For the same reason, the court found that O'Kon could not perfect a claim of lien for such fees under the mechanic's lien law. The partial summary judgment was appealed to this court and affirmed in part and reversed in part. O'Kon and Co., Inc. v. Riedel, 540 So.2d 836 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (O'Kon I).
This court rejected the lower court's reliance on Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, and ruled alternatively that with respect to O'Kon's claim of lien, that the mechanic's lien statute itself, section 713.03(1), (2), Florida Statutes (1987), precluded a lien where O'Kon did not pursue certification pursuant to section 481.219(1)(b). However, the court reversed the partial summary judgment on O'Kon's claim for breach of contract and returned the cause for a trial on the merits of the claim.
On remand, after a non-jury trial, the trial court entered the final judgment on appeal. The trial court ruled that RSW was not obligated to pay O'Kon's fees, billed for the preparation of plans for Kingswood's unrealized development project, under the language of the TriParty Agreement. Alternatively, relying upon Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, the court ruled that even if the Tri-Party Agreement had obligated RSW to pay O'Kon's fees, the contract would be unenforceable by O'Kon because O'Kon had not complied with Chapter 481, governing the right to practice architecture in Florida. In particular, the court noted that O'Kon had never obtained a Florida certificate of authorization to perform architectural services as required by section 481.219(l)(b). Further, regarding O'Kon's contentions that it was substantially, though not technically, in compliance with Chapter 481, because Dixon, a Florida architect had prepared all the plans and drawings, the court found that in reality, Steve Chick, a member of O'Kon's Atlanta, Georgia, office who was not licensed in Florida, was the individual primarily responsible for the plans and oversight of the project. Regarding RSW's claims, the court found that O'Kon's claim of lien was not willfully exaggerated and that O'Kon's actions in filing the lien were not malicious and were protected by a qualified good faith privilege.
O'Kon admits that it neglected to register contrary to section 481.219(1)(b), but contends that all architectural work in this case was either done by Dixon, a Florida architect, or supervised by him, and that registration was a mere ministerial and technical act. O'Kon argues that these facts evidently persuaded this court to rule in O'Kon / that failure to register does not itself invalidate the underlying contract and that this court, accordingly, rejected the contrary views on this issue as expressed in Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray. O'Kon maintains that in direct conflict with this court's opinion in O'Kon I, the lower court again erroneously relied on Rolls to reject O'Kon's claim.
Our interpretation of this court's opinion in O'Kon I differs from that of appellant. O'Kon I did not rule that failure of a corporation to register in Florida is a mere technical violation which, by itself, will not invalidate a contract for the payment of architectural fees. The court merely ruled that a partial summary judgment on the contract claim was inappropriate at that time. As we view our prior decision, the court was simply unwilling, on the record before it, to rule on the merits of the entire claim without the benefit of a trial at which the facts and issues could be more thoroughly and completely developed. This having now been accomplished, and the lower court having fully considered the issue, the matter is ripe for review.
Section 481.219(1) provides:
481.219 Certification of partnerships and corporations.—
(1)The practice of or the offer to practice architecture by licensees through a corporation or partnership offering architectural services to the public, or by a corporation or partnership offering architectural services to the public through licensees under this act as agents, employees, officers, or partners, is permitted, subject to the provisions of this act, provided that:
(a) One or more of the principal officers of the corporation or one or more partners of the partnership and all personnel of the corporation or partnership who act in its behalf as architects in this state are registered as provided by this act; and
(b) The corporation or partnership has been issued a certificate of authorization by the department as provided in s. 481.-213. (emphasis supplied)
Section 481.223 provides in pertinent part:
(1) No person shall knowingly:
(a) Practice architecture unless the person is a registered architect;
Addressing first O'Kon's contentions that this case presents a mere technical violation of Chapter 481, we must respectfully disagree. The state regulates corporations seeking to provide architectural services through certification. Obviously, the Legislature thought it was important to provide for the regulation of both the individual and the corporate entity offering architectural services, as revealed by separate statutory criteria governing each. O'Kon I, 540 So.2d at 841. As we noted in O'Kon I, the language of section 481.219(1)(b) is straightforward and mandatory, and appellant has offered no good rationale for excising this requirement from this regulatory statute.
But even aside from the requirement of corporate certification, the record demonstrates a further violation of section 481.-219. Specifically, at least one unlicensed architect, Steve Chick, came to Florida and worked on the plans in O'Kon's behalf, contrary to section 481.219(l)(a), which requires that all personnel who act as architects in this state must be registered as provided by the statute. Accordingly, we agree with the trial court that O'Kon's contract for architectural services, which were performed in violation of Florida's licensing statute, was unenforceable in Florida under the rationale and in accordance with the authorities cited and discussed in Rolls v. Bliss & Nyitray, 408 So.2d at 233-235. Because the trial court's judgment is affirmable on this ground, we do not decide the correctness of the trial court's further ruling that the language of the Tri-Party Agreement did not obligate RSW for the fees.
With regard to the trial court's ruling on RSW's claim, we agree that the trial court's findings are supported by competent, substantial evidence in the record, and we will not disturb the trial court's resolution of these factual disputes.
AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part and REMANDED to the trial court for an award of fees pursuant to section 713.-29, Florida Statutes.
ERVIN, J., concurs.
ALLEN, J., specially concurs.
. In O'Kon's statement of the facts, O'Kon recites that Dixon was made vice-president in charge of O'Kon's Florida architecture division.
. We find some merit in appellant's argument that the trial court's finding that Steve Chick was the individual primarily responsible for the project's plans and oversights has no express written support in the record. However, this is not a critical factor in our decision since the record clearly demonstrates that Chick, an unlicensed Florida architect, participated in the preparation of the plans and gave his professional assistance on the project in Florida.