Case Name: Linda SIMONELLI, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LICENSING BOARD, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2007-06-22
Citations: 958 So. 2d 1125
Docket Number: No. 2D06-3272
Parties: Linda SIMONELLI, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LICENSING BOARD, Appellee.
Judges: DAVIS and WALLACE, JJ., and THREADGILL, EDWARD F„ Senior Judge, Concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 958
Pages: 1125–1125

Head Matter:
Linda SIMONELLI, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LICENSING BOARD, Appellee.
No. 2D06-3272.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
June 22, 2007.
William M. Powell of Powell Law Offices, P.A., Cape Coral, for Appellant.
Jennifer A. Tschetter, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We reverse the award of $2223.40 made to Linda Simonelli by the Construction Industry Licensing Board ("the Board"), which administers the Florida Homeowner's Construction Recovery Fund ("the Fund") pursuant to section 489.143, Florida Statutes (2005). The circuit court awarded Simonelli $10,944.20 for damages she incurred when her contractor abandoned construction of her swimming pool. Simonelli then filed a claim with the Board, seeking a payment from the Fund equal to that judgment. The Board, however, took into consideration informal estimates provided by one of its members and concluded that Simonelli should be awarded only $2223.40. This was error. The circuit court's judgment was competent, substantial evidence before the Board and should have been accepted by the Board as the basis for the award.
We therefore reverse and remand for entry of an award to Ms. Simonelli of the balance of the defaulting contractor's lifetime cap to the extent it does not exceed the trial court's judgment.
Reversed and remanded.
DAVIS and WALLACE, JJ., and THREADGILL, EDWARD F" Senior Judge, Concur.