BREACH OF CONTRACT

PALM BEACH CIRCUIT COURT

A jury awarded $76,783 to renovators who did not receive their share of the profits once a home was sold.

In 2007, Deborah Fusco and James Smith agreed to provide labor for the renovation of a home purchased by James Smith Jr. and Tammy Devondry-Smith, who agreed to provide the capital. Fusco and James Smith claimed Devondry-Smith confirmed in an email that Fusco and James Smith would receive “50 percent of the project profit without money or financial responsibility.” However, after the house sold, they were not paid any profits.

Devondry-Smith and James Smith Jr. claimed there was no agreement and, if there were, any profits were negated by the carrying costs incurred during the six years when the property didn't sell. Including interest, judgment was entered in the amount of $86,345.

Case: Fusco v. Smith

Case No.: 50-2016-CA-003595-XXXX-MB

Plaintiffs attorneys: William B. Lewis and Alex Braunstein, Morgan & Morgan, West Palm Beach

Defense attorneys: Jennifer J. Kramer, Law Office of Jennifer J. Kramer, Boca Raton, and Scott M. Wellikoff, Adler Wellikoff, Boca Raton