## Facts

- Homeowners contracted in writing with a contractor to perform residential repairs related to hurricane damage.
- The contractor substantially completed the work, and the homeowners later received an invoice showing a fixed balance due ($16,881.36).
- The invoice directed payment to the contractor’s Clearwater address in Pinellas County.
- The plaintiff, alleging it was the contractor’s successor in interest, sued for breach of contract in Pinellas County and alleged payment was due and payable there.
- The homeowners moved to transfer venue to Charlotte County, asserting the work occurred there and that payment was due there, but filed no supporting affidavits.
- The trial court granted the venue transfer without explaining its reasoning, and the plaintiff pursued a nonfinal appeal.

## Issues

1. In a suit seeking a sum certain for nonpayment under a contract and invoice, is venue proper in the county designated as the place of payment?
2. May a trial court transfer venue when the defendant offers only unsworn assertions and files no affidavits controverting the complaint’s venue allegations?

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the order transferring venue to Charlotte County and remanded for further proceedings in Pinellas County.
- The court held the place-of-payment rule applied because the plaintiff sought a fixed, liquidated amount shown on the invoice and the invoice specified where payment was to be sent.
- The court held the homeowners failed to meet their burden to contest venue because they filed no affidavits to dispute the pleaded place of payment.

## Legal Principles

- For a claim based on failure to pay a sum certain, venue is proper in the county where payment is to be made when the contract or invoice specifies or implies that place.
- A defendant seeking to transfer venue must controvert the plaintiff’s venue allegations with affidavits; absent such proof, the allegations are treated as true for purposes of the venue motion.
- When venue is proper in more than one county, a plaintiff’s selection of a proper venue should not be disturbed without an evidentiary basis.
- The place-of-payment rule generally does not control where the claim is for an unliquidated equitable adjustment rather than a sum certain.

## Conclusion

Because the action sought a definite unpaid balance and the invoice directed payment to a Pinellas County address, venue was proper in Pinellas County; the homeowners’ unsupported transfer request could not overcome the uncontroverted venue allegations, so the transfer order was reversed and the case returned to Pinellas County.


Suncoast Home Improvements, Inc. v. Robichaud, 106 So. 3d 969 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)