Affinity Health Partners, LLC v. Hayes Locums, LLC
After a clerk's default, the trial court entered a final default judgment for over $219,000 based only on a service agreement and a one-page invoice summary, with 25 days' notice of a five-minute non-evidentiary hearing. The Fourth DCA reversed, holding the damages were unliquidated because the contract set no rates (fees were fixed in separate unattached 'Confirmations') and the complaint alternated among differing damage figures, so a properly noticed damages trial under Rule 1.440 was required.
Key facts
- Affinity Health Partners sued Hayes Locums for breach of a service agreement, claiming over $219,000 in damages based on a one-page invoice summary, though the contract itself contained no rate information and fees were established in separate unattached documents labeled 'Confirmations.'
- After Hayes Locums failed to respond, the trial court entered a final default judgment on the basis of a five-minute non-evidentiary hearing with only 25 days' notice.
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Why it matters
The opinion expressly flags an emerging DCA split over whether unliquidated damages against a defaulted defendant always require a Rule 1.440-noticed trial (1st and 3d DCAs) or may be resolved by ordinary summary… — full analysis with a trial
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