Orange City, FL asked in Contracts for Florida

Q: If a company does not have a stated fee for severing a contract that I signed, are they allowed to charge me a fee?

It was never discussed that there was a fee for 'breaching contract'. But then I was told that it would be a $3,500 charge

I recently spoke to them again about this and now they have changed the fee to $5,000. Unfortunately, this conversation occurred over the phone and they are now stating that it was never that amount. But it also does not say anything about a fee in the contract to begin with.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Linda Liang
Linda Liang
Answered
  • Boca Raton, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: If there is no provision in the contract about this fee, you are not obligated to pay.

1 user found this answer helpful

Charles M.  Baron
Charles M. Baron
Answered
  • Hollywood, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: Not sure what you mean by "severing". If you mean that, after entering into a binding contract that obligated you, and with no opt-out period or other agreed upon termination rights, you said, "The heck with that, I am un-obligating myself", that could be a breach of contract, for which the other party could be legally entitled to money damages. If that's what's going on here, they may simply be determining what they think is a fair amount to compensate them for the breach - that is, how much they think a court would award them. The contract does not need to state a particular amount of compensation for that scenario. If, by "severing", you mean something else, you might try re-posting your inquiry with a clearer picture of your situation - but regardless of what you mean, it would be best to have an attorney review the contract and the circumstances in order for you to get reliable advice.

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