Today’s case counsels plaintiffs attorneys not to be shrinking violets when they plead damages. But to reach that point, it first illustrates a basic rule of statutory construction: Statutes mean exactly what they say, unless they don’t. These at least seem to be the guiding principles behind the Fourth District Court of Appeal Division One’s recent decision Airs Aromatics v. CBL Data Recovery Technologies.
Back in 2011, Airs Aromatics sued CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc. for breach of contract. The complaint did not have much to say about damages, except that Airs pleaded it had “suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but estimated to exceed $25,000.00.” This bare-bones allegation elevated the case into unlimited jurisdiction but revealed little about what Airs was demanding. CBL answered, and discovery ensued. In a settlement conference, Airs demanded $5 million. After about a year, CBL apparently decided it had had enough of litigation and stipulated to withdraw its answer, allowing Airs to take a default.
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