Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Respondent defaulted on the note and petitioner sought to foreclose on the mortgage. In the foreclosure proceedings, respondent alleged the affirmative defense of usury claiming the effective rate of interest charged exceeded the 10 per cent usury cap then in effect. The trial court applied section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes (1977), the spreading statute, and found that the note was not usurious....

...The basis for this change of heart was an extreme hypothetical, involving a 50 percent advance, presented by respondent and the court's belief that the legislature could not have intended that hypothetical. 379 So.2d at 1303. Thus, the court equated "stated amount of the loan" with "actual principal sum received" in applying section 687.03(3). Also, the court assumed the loan fee was interest and then added the interest to be paid on the loan fee to the fee in making the usury computations pursuant to section 687.03(3)....

...The district court's computations follow: 1. The spreading of any such advance or forbearance for the purpose of computing the rate of interest shall be calculated by first computing the advance or forbearance as a percentage of the total stated amount of the loan. § 687.03(3), Fla....

...a) The resulting annual percentage rate from paragraph 2(b) above is 1.204% per year. b) The stated annual rate on the note is 9% per year. c) The effective rate of interest is 9% + 1.204% = 10.204%. We quash. The decision of the second district constitutes a judicial rewrite of section 687.03 and deviates from the plain meaning of the statute. We hold that section 687.03(3) is clear on its face and should be applied in the following manner: 1....

...he language which is free from ambiguity." Van Pelt v. Hilliard, 75 Fla. 792, 78 So. 693 (1918). The question of whether "stated amount of the loan" should be read as "actual principal sum received" or stated amount of the note provides potential in section 687.03(3) for the ambiguity necessary to depart from the plain meaning. However, no ambiguity exists. In section 687.03(3), the legislature uses the term "stated" four times when referring to the loan....

...face of the note. Thus, contrary to the facts in Van Pelt, the language has a definite meaning and the court should have used the face amount of the note ($290,000), rather than the actual *1074 sum received ($290,000-$5,800 = $284,200), in applying section 687.03(3). In addition, the court increased the amount of the "advance or forbearance" by the amount of interest to be paid on that advance over the life of the loan in contravention of the statutory spreading formula. Section 687.03(3) does not contemplate this additional step when determining the advance as a percentage of the stated amount of the loan....

...nsumer has other defenses available. The second district alludes to another — the common law defense of unconscionability. Id. It is the responsibility of the legislature to correct the asserted problem presented by the district court hypothetical. Section 687.03(3) is also attacked on the ground that it is inconsistent both with the general definition of usury in section 687.03(1) and with Wilson v....

...The spreading statute may be inconsistent with Wilson. Nevertheless, usury is a creature of statute, Spinney v. Winter Park Building & Loan, 120 Fla. 453, 162 So. 899 (1935), and the usury statute must control over prior case law. Thus, Wilson has no vitality in cases where section 687.03(3) applies. Section 687.03(1) and section 687.03(3) are not inconsistent. The "[e]xcept as provided herein ..." language contemplates that other provisions apply. Section 687.03(3) supercedes when an advance is required in a loan transaction. When the actual principal sum received equals the stated amount of the loan, however, section 687.03(1) remains in force. Enactment of the spreading statute merely limited the scope of section 687.03(1); it did not remove the provision's effectiveness....

...ts and provided that any contract, other than that of a corporation, for interest at a higher rate than 10 percent per annum was usurious, and any contract involving a corporation for interest at a higher rate than 15 percent per annum was usurious. Section 687.03, Florida Statutes, defined unlawful rates of usury and provided that it was usurious for any person to charge to take for any loan, except from a corporation, a rate of interest greater than 10 percent per annum. It further provided that transactions with a corporation shall be usurious and unlawful if for a rate of interest greater than 15 percent per annum. Section 687.04, Florida Statutes, provided that any person willfully violating the provisions of Section 687.03 should forfeit the entire interest contracted to be charged and should forfeit double the amount of the interest taken or reserved....

...t shall be forfeited. (2) All laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith and all other statutory penalties for usury applicable to loans to corporations are hereby repealed. *16 The 1967 Legislature did not amend the law. Therefore, Sections 687.02, 687.03, 687.04, 687.07, and 687.11 were reenacted as the official law of the state in accordance with Section 11.2421, Florida Statutes....

...Section 687.07, Florida Statutes. Section 687.07 had previously provided for the unenforceability of the debt where the interest rate exceeded 25 percent. The new statute provided different penalties for loans exceeding 25 percent. Sections 687.02, 687.03, 687.04, and 687.11 were carried forward from the official 1967 statutes and reenacted into the official 1969 statutes. The 1970 Legislature carried forward all sections of 687 previously enacted, except that it made a small and insignificant amendment to Section 687.03....

...The law as it then stood provided that with regard to loans in excess of $500,000 an individual as maker could pay up to 15 percent interest and an individual secondarily liable was limited to 10 percent interest. In 1974, Sections 687.02 and 687.04 were carried forward into the 1975 statutes unchanged. Section 687.03 was amended in several small and insignificant ways not germane to this discussion....

...It was at this time that Section 687.11 was amended by adding: "(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to obligations which exceed $500,000." Respondent argues that this amendment was intended to remove all interest limitations on loans to corporate borrowers in excess of $500,000. However, Sections 687.02, 687.03, and 687.04 do now and always have provided penalties for the charging of interest in excess of certain rates....

...Holland to the defendant, or in the alternative that the individual plaintiff recover judgment against the defendant in double the amount of interest so reserved, exacted, taken and paid to the defendant by the individual plaintiff, pursuant to F.S. § 687.03, and § 687.04, F.S.A....

...wer is an individual or a corporation. [1] In order to place in proper perspective the impact of Chapter 65-299, now F.S. Section 687.11, F.S.A., we think it is necessary to briefly discuss related provisions of Chapter 687. F.S. Sections 687.02 and 687.03, F.S.A....

...Each of these sections provides that per annum rates of interest in excess of 10 per cent charged to individuals and in excess of 15 per cent per annum charged to corporations are usurious and unlawful. Section 687.04 provides that any lender wilfully violating the provisions of Section 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged and only the actual principal sum of a usurious contract can be recovered in any court. This section further provides for a forfeiture or penalty of double the interest charged when the lender is guilty of actually exacting and taking, by payment or otherwise, usurious interest contrary to the provisions of F.S. Section 687.03, F.S.A....

...rm as used in the preceding portion of the same act. Furthermore, Section 687.11 repeals only so much of Section 687.04 with which it is clearly in conflict. Section 687.04 provides that anyone violating the 15 per cent per annum usury limit of F.S. Section 687.03, F.S.A., as to corporate loans, by taking, or who has been paid, interest in excess of 15 per cent per annum by a corporate borrower, "shall forfeit to the borrower * * * double the amount of interest * * * taken or exacted." Section 6...

...ibits certain interest rates establishes a strong public policy against such conduct in this state where interstate loans are concerned. The usury statute itself, fraught as it is with exceptions, belies the imputation of a strong public policy. See § 687.031, Fla....

...In 1975 The Florida Consumer Finance Act allowed interest on small loans as high as 30% per annum, in contrast to the general usury ceiling of 10% per annum. § 516.031, Fla. Stat. (1975). The Savings Association Act made usury limits simply inapplicable to building and loan associations. §§ 665.395, 687.031, Fla....

...§ 659.181, Fla. Stat. (1975). Florida has long recognized the general exception to usury laws of the time-price doctrine. See Davidson v. Davis, 59 Fla. 476, 52 So. 139 (1910). The usury law does not apply to the sale of bonds, or mortgages on those bonds, section 687.03(1), Florida Statutes (1975), or to the transfers of negotiable paper in certain cases, section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1975)....

...ance, or device whatever whereby the debtor is required or obligated to pay a sum of money greater than the actual principal sum received, together with interest at the rate of the equivalent of 18 percent per annum simple interest. (Emphasis added) § 687.03(1), Fla....

...ntent existed to collect interest at a usurious rate. This court in Jersey provided a succinct background on usury relevant to this issue: Civil usury involves loans of $500,000 or less and an interest rate of greater than 18% and less than 25%. See § 687.03, Fla.Stat....

...In a case involving a statute with a savings clause, Sailboat Apartment Corp. v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage and Realty Trust, 363 So.2d 564 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), appellant executed a note in favor of appellee in March 1974. In June 1974, and then again in 1977, the usury statute (section 687.03, Florida Statutes) was amended....

...The appellate court held that since the action was based on the usury statute, appellant had no vested substantive right but only an enforceable penalty. Therefore, the penalty could be repealed or modified at any time before the proceedings became final. However, section 687.03(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1977), specifically stated that the act shall only apply to loans made subsequent to the effective date of the act. Therefore, the court concluded: "While it appears then that Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1977) is controlling, that statute provides that it is to operate prospectively... . Therefore, under the holding in Tel Service Co., supra, Section 687.03(2), Florida Statutes (1975) is controlling." 363 So.2d at 567....

...on of additional interest over that provided in the mortgage note itself, then the whole transaction is rendered usurious inasmuch as ten per cent interest contracted in the note is the maximum allowable under the law. The controlling statutes, Sec. 687.03 and 687.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., provide: *792 "687.03 It shall be usury and unlawful for any person, or for any agent, officer or other representative of any person, to reserve, charge or take for any loan, or for any advance of money, or for forbearance to enforce the collection of any sum of mo...

...of money greater than the actual principal sum received, together with interest at the rate of ten per cent, as aforesaid. * * *" "687.04 Any person, or any agent, officer or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when said usuriou...

...HODGES, JOHN G., Associate Judge. This is a timely appeal from a final decree in an action to foreclose a mortgage secured by a loan alleged to have been usurious for charges of interest in excess of 15% under the interest forfeiture provisions of F.S. Section 687.03, F.S.A., and also in excess of 25% under the total forfeiture provisions of F.S....

...The complaint further provided for foreclosure upon default of payment of the alleged sums found to be due. Defendant filed an answer and counterclaim denying that $22,500 was advanced, asserting that only $20,000 was advanced. Two affirmative defenses were also interposed, one alleging usury under Florida Statute § 687.03, F.S.A., and the other alleging usury under Florida Statute § 687.07, F.S.A....

...*173 Our usury statutes show a clear legislative intent to prevent accomplishment of a usurious scheme by indirection, and the concealment of the needle of usury in a haystack of subterfuge will not avail to prevent its pricking the body of the law into action. In the words of F.S. § 687.03, F.S.A., "It shall be usury and unlawful for any person * * * to reserve, charge or take for any loan, or for any advance of money, * * * a rate of interest greater than ten per cent per annum, either directly or indirectly, by way of commi...

...elopment project. We disagree. First, it is important to note that at the same time the venture incurred a debt of $2,000,000, it received an asset of $2,000,000 in the form of proceeds of the development loan. Second, and more importantly, however, section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes (1993), in pertinent part instructs that: [A]ny payment ......

...The burden to establish these elements of usury is on the borrower. Dixon; Swanson v. Gulf West International Corp., 429 So.2d 817 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). While we agree that Rebman did prove the first and second requirements, she did not prove the third and fourth. Looking first at the third element, section 687.03(1) defines unlawful rates of interest as: Except as provided herein, it shall be usury and unlawful for any person, or for any agent, officer, or other representative of any person, to reserve, charge, or take for any loan, advance of...

...In this regard, Rebman asks this court to treat the escrowed monies as a forbearance in the form of an interest reserve or alternatively as a compensating balance account. She therefore argues that the effective rate of interest should be computed according to the "spreading" formula set forth in section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes (1983), and *1363 approved in St....

...agent, officer or other representative of any person” to charge “a rate of interest greater than ten per cent per annum . . . directly or indirectly . . , by any contract, contrivance or device whatever . . . .” Section 6938, C.G.L., 1927, now Section 687.03, Florida Statutes, 1941....

...the court granted judgment for the plaintiff Solomon against the bank for $21,078.54, being double the amount of interest which the court found had been paid by the plaintiff to the bank on a loan which the court found was usurious, in violation of § 687.03 Fla....

...The determinative question, on this appeal by the bank from the judgment, is whether the amount representing a debt owed to the lender by another party, which was required by the lender to be paid by the borrower as a condition of the renewal or new loan to the borrower, constituted interest within the meaning and intent of § 687.03 Fla....

...n aggregated more than 10% per annum. In granting judgment for the plaintiff the trial court answered that question in the affirmative. We hold that in so ruling the trial court was eminently correct. Under the broad language of the Florida Statute (§ 687.03) against exaction of excessive interest, directly or indirectly, "by any contract, contrivance or device whatever," it is proper to classify as interest an agreement to pay, in addition to a stipulated rate of interest, the debt of another to the lender for which the borrower is not legally obligated....

...according to its stated maturity date, without regard to early maturity in the event of default. The resulting annual percentage rate shall then be added to the stated annual percentage rate of interest to produce the effective rate of interest for purposes of this chapter. § 687.03(3), Fla.Stat. (emphasis added). The clear language of § 687.03(3) refers to the particular term stated on the face of a loan document. The statute explicitly states that the calculation of unlawful rates of interest "shall apply only to loans and advances of credit." § 687.03(2)(b), Fla.Stat....

...hen divided the total of the two figures $14,036.80, by the actual principal sum received by Caribbean, $57,500. On this basis, we computed the interest rate to be approximately 24% per annum and thus, the transaction is clearly usurious. Fla. Stat. § 687.03, F.S.A....

...See Defendant, Lloyds' Memorandum in Opposition to Entry of Final Judgments, file dated November 15, 1990, at 14-19. Intervenors disagree. Intervenors essentially argue that since the pertinent statute, Fla.Stat. § 687.01, mentions interest at a rate of "12 percent per annum," and since later sections, including § 687.03(1) mentions "18 percent per annum simple interest," (emphasis added), then the Legislature must have intended that the former statute provide for compound interest, since the Legislature likewise would have written "simple" had they meant it....

...and that absent clear evidence to the contrary, the whole section should be read in terms pertaining to simple interest. In fact, this interpretation seems more likely: Since § 687.01 has remained essentially unchanged for a number of years — yet § 687.03(1) was last revised in 1979 — the latter can be said to clarify the language of the former....

...*667 Under Florida law, sections 687.04 and 687.071, Florida Statutes (1993) provide statutory causes of action which allow a borrower to seek affirmative relief against a lender who has made a usurious loan. Civil usury involves loans of $500,000 or less and an interest rate of greater than 18% and less than 25%. See § 687.03, Fla....

...1981) [ CMI ], which involved a usury issue not unlike the one found in this case, Justice Sundberg wrote the following about Florida's statutory usury laws: "The usury statute itself, fraught as it is with exceptions, belies the imputation of a strong public policy. See § 687.031, Fla....

...In 1975 The Florida Consumer Finance Act allowed interest on small loans as high as 30% per annum, in contrast to the general usury ceiling of 10% per annum. § 516.031, Fla. Stat. (1975). The Savings Association Act made usury limits simply inapplicable to building and loan associations. §§ 665.395, 687.031, Fla....

...§ 659.181, Fla. Stat. (1975). Florida has long recognized the general exception to usury laws of the time-price doctrine. See Davidson v. Davis, 59 Fla. 476, 52 So. 139 (1910). The usury law does not apply to the sale of bonds, or mortgages on those bonds, section 687.031(1), Florida Statutes (1975), or to the transfers of negotiable paper in certain cases, section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1975)....

...of any usurious overcharge and tender a refund of the overcharge already collected, along with an "adjustment" of the loan documents to memorialize that the borrower "will not be required to pay further interest in excess of the amount permitted by s. 687.03." The majority does not explain why under anything found in chapter 687 such a purge could not be built ab origine like this savings clause into the loan documents themselves and achieve the same effect....

...iderable leeway to avoid usury violations under the current scheme. In addition to the above statutory purge, sections 687.12 and 687.13 still exempt most institutional lenders from the usury laws altogether; and subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of section 687.03 exempt a huge number of commercial loan transactions from the chapter's provisions. It is even more interesting to contemplate that, as to loans greater than $500,000, section 687.03(4) actually exempts stock options, interests in profits, receipts, or residual values which have been charged, reserved or taken as an advance or forbearance for the loan, so long as the value of such property interest is dependent on the success of the venture in which the loan proceeds are used....

...The lower court further found that what Alderman and Home Credit insisted to be a "time price differential" on the $4,999.20 note and "five per cent per annum discount" on the $3,750 note were in fact interest in excess of that permitted to be charged under § 687.03, F.S.A....

...*892 Having upheld the lower court's finding that Home Credit in effect made a loan to the Greens for which a usurious rate of interest was intended to be exacted, we must now determine the correctness of its finding as to the rate category of usurious interest charged and the penalty that it imposed. Section 687.03, F.S.A., provides that it shall be usury to charge interest on a loan in excess of ten per cent per annum. Section 687.04, F.S.A., imposes penalties for violation of § 687.03....

...The latter part of § 687.07 also makes the exaction of such interest a misdemeanor. Thus has the abbreviated description "criminal usury" come to be applied to interest charged in violation of § 687.07 as has the term "civil usury" been likewise applied to interest charged in violation of § 687.03 in conjunction with § 687.04....

...n of the indebtedness and the mortgage. The mitigation of forfeiture just referred to results from an anomalous situation in this case which will later be brought out. The reservation of the interest in this case in addition to "civil usury" under §§ 687.03 and 687.04, F.S.A., also constituted "criminal usury" under § 687.07, F.S.A., in that in excess of twenty-five per cent per annum interest was reserved by operation of the two acceleration clauses which made no provision for the eliminatio...

...CMI answered the cross-claim and pled as defenses: (1) that Massachusetts law is applicable and under the laws of Massachusetts, the loan is not usurious; (2) that the 50% stock of Sailboat Key it received cannot be considered interest because the value thereof depended upon the success of the venture within the meaning of Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1975); (3) that the modification of the loan agreement of October 22, 1971 released CMI from any claims or defenses with respect to the loan; (4) that Sailboat Key is barred by the statute of limitations; and (5) tha...

...CMI basically contends that the value of the equity in the project which it received (a so called "equity kicker") substantially depended upon the success of the venture and should have been excluded from the calculation of interest as provided in Section 687.03(4), Florida Statutes (1974): "(4) If a loan exceeds $500,000 then, for the purposes of this chapter, interest on that loan shall not include the value of property charged, reserved, or taken as an advance or forbearance, the value of w...

...Chapter 687, to wit: Section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1975), which provides a penalty of double the amount of the interest. To adopt CMI's view would be to negate subsection (1) of Section 687.11 with respect to loans in excess of $500,000 and also Section 687.03(1) and (4), Florida Statutes (1976) with respect to corporations which borrow in excess of $500,000....

...62.03 x 2 _____________ $1,321,924.06 [3] which has no usury statute applicable. [4] Financial Fed. Sav. & L. Ass'n v. Burleigh House, Inc., 305 So.2d 59 (Fla.3d DCA 1974). [5] 74-232 "House Bill No. 3955 "AN ACT relating to the usury laws; amending 687.03 and 687.11; providing an explanation of which loans are deemed for $500,000 or more, clarifying method of calculating interest under Chapter 687 and property included with definition; relating to guarantors; and providing an effective date....

...It is also acknowledged that this loan was solely sought and solicited by the defendant. Nevertheless, these circumstances have no real bearing upon the issue. "The total amount of interest and mortgage note bonus payments exceeded the statutory maximum return of ten (10%) per cent and is clearly in violation of Section 687.03 of the 1955 Laws of Florida [F.S.A.]....

...t ever existed." Appellant presented five points on appeal, which may be compressed into two: first, a contention that the transaction, despite the device used to make it appear otherwise, was a loan at a usurious rate of interest, in violation of §§ 687.03, 687.04 and 687.07, Fla. Stat., F.S.A.; second, that the statements of the lenders that they did not intend usury were not acceptable to establish their innocence, in view of the evidence to the contrary. The appellant is entitled to prevail on both points. Section 687.03, Fla....

...Stat., F.S.A., provides it shall be usury and unlawful to charge for any loan or for forbearance a rate of interest greater than a stated percentage, which, in the case of corporations is 15% per annum. Section 687.04 provides that for wilful violation of the provisions of § 687.03 there is a forfeiture of the interest contracted for and of double the amount of interest which has been taken, reserved or paid, with certain exceptions not important here....

...In this case, the alleged telephonic notice of exercise of Duke Realty's option is directly contrary to the written provisions of the contracts. But the trial court's correct application of the plain language of the parties' agreements is not the only basis for finding the counterclaims legally insufficient. *903 Section 687.0304, Florida Statutes (2007), requires that a borrower may not take legal action on "an agreement to lend or forbear repayment of money, goods, or things in action, to otherwise extend credit, or to make any other financial accommodation...

...Coral Reef conceded throughout that it had no written agreement expressing consideration, setting forth the terms allegedly modified, and signed by the parties. Coral Reef's claim is thus also legally insufficient under what has been called "Florida's Banking Statute of Frauds," section 687.0304....

...In this case, the borrowers admitted default in writing and hoped for mercy. Having signed over 100 pages of single-spaced legal documents reviewed by their attorneys, Coral Reef's principals could not ignore the requirements of those documents and section 687.0304....

...5 (new lender reasonably relied on original lender's promise to release part of the land from the mortgage upon payment of a stated sum). Duke's more substantial argument is that promissory estoppel cannot be employed where a promise is barred by the bank statute of frauds, which is section 687.0304, Florida Statutes (2005)....

...The bank statute of frauds requires credit agreements to be in writing. A credit agreement includes "an agreement to lend or forbear repayment of money, goods, or things in action, to otherwise extent credit, or to make any other financial accommodation." § 687.0304(1)(a), Fla....

...iary duty to the other. Watkins v. NCNB Nat'l Bank of Fla., Inc., 622 So.2d 1063, 1065 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). [7] It appears that the reimbursement of interest was inserted in order to be sure that Duke's loan did not violate the Florida usury law. See § 687.03, Fla....

...84-209 (the George, Margaret, Elizabeth and Kenneth Rollins mortgages), the trial court found the interest rate on the 1980 mortgage resulted in civil usury. This finding was predicated upon the trial court's determination that the $6,635.00 mortgage brokerage fee constituted interest which, when calculated pursuant to section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes, amounted to an effective interest rate of 23.9 percent, or civil usury....

...n the equivalent of 18 percent per annum simple interest ... Civil usury exists, by implication, when a loan in the amount of $500,000 or less has an interest rate greater than 18 percent per year and less than or equal to 25 percent per year. See §§ 687.03, Fla. Stat. and 687.071, Fla. Stat. (1981). Section 687.03 provides, in part: Except as provided herein, it shall be usury and unlawful for any person, or for any agent, officer, or other representative of any person, to reserve, charge, or take for any loan, advance of money, line of credit,...

...t rate in excess of 25 percent per year but not in excess of 45 percent per year, forfeits the right to collect the debt. § 687.071(7), Fla. Stat. (1981). [2] The statutory formula for computation of the "effective rate of interest" is set forth in section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes, which provides, in part: (3) For the purpose of this chapter, the rate of interest on any loan, advance of money, line of credit, forbearance to enforce the collection of a debt, or other obligation to pay interes...

...indlin v. Davis, 74 So.2d 789 (Fla. 1954); Rebman v. Flagship *657 First National Bank of Highlands County, 472 So.2d 1360, 1362 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). In St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Hamm, 414 So.2d 1071, 1073 (Fla. 1982), the supreme court said section 687.03(3) is clear on its face and should be applied in the following manner: 1....

...SMITH, C.J., and WENTWORTH, J., concur. NOTES [1] § 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1981), provides in pertinent part: 687.04 Penalty for usury; not to apply in certain situations. — Any person, or any agent, officer, or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of s. 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when said usuriou...

...The interest rate charged by Investment did not exceed the legal rate. The brokerage fee collected by Service did not exceed that authorized by chapter 494, Florida Statutes (1975). The combined interest and commission, however, did exceed the legal rate of interest chargeable under section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1975)....

...Chapter 687, to wit: Section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1975), which provides a penalty of double the amount of the interest. To adopt CMI's view would be to negate subsection (1) of Section 687.11 with respect to loans in excess of $500,000 and also Section 687.03(1) and (4), Florida Statutes (1976) with respect to corporations which borrow in excess of $500,000....

...simply does not support the position of cross-petitioners. A brief exposition of the history of chapter 687, Florida Statutes, is required to demonstrate the error in analysis by cross-petitioners and the district court in Continental Mortgage Investors v. Sailboat Key, Inc . In 1965, sections 687.02 and 687.03, Florida Statutes, defined usurious contracts and the maximum lawful rates of interest. Section 687.04 provided that any person willfully violating the provisions of section 687.03 should forfeit the entire interest contracted to be charged and should forfeit double the amount of the interest taken or reserved....

...rations, but as to the latter the double interest recovery was eliminated. Continuing the historical development of chapter 687, we see that in 1970 the legislature carried forward all sections of that chapter with only an insignificant amendment to section 687.03....

...shall not apply to obligations which exceed $500,000. To the argument that this amendment removed all interest limitations on loans to corporate borrowers in excess of $500,000 the Court in Woodgate Development responded: "However, Sections 687.02, 687.03, and 687.04 do now and always have provided penalties for the charging of interest in excess of certain rates." 351 So.2d at 16....

...[3] § 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1975): 687.04 Penalty for usury, not to apply to transferee of negotiable paper unless usury appears on face. — Any person, or any agent, officer or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when said usuriou...

...Defendants appealed, and under appropriate assignments of error question the findings that the loan was individual rather than corporate, and that the use of the corporation as the "borrower" was a device to evade the usury statute. Sections 687.02 and 687.03, Fla....

...terest exceeding 10% per annum, as to individuals, is usurious and unlawful, subject to certain exceptions not important here. Section 687.04 permits a borrower under such a usurious contract, which represents a wilful violation of the provisions of § 687.03, to receive credit for or recover double the amount of usurious interest which has been reserved by the lender or been paid. These usury statutes (§§ 687.03 and 687.04, ibid.) show a clear legislative intent to prevent accomplishment of the *684 objects forbidden, by the use of any scheme or device whatsoever or by any indirect process....

...456, at page 459, in which the Supreme Court said: "The statute makes it usury for the lender to charge more than 10 per cent per annum `either directly or indirectly, by way of commission for advances, discount, exchange, or by any contract, contrivance or device whatever.' (Italics supplied.) Section 6938, C.G.L. [now § 687.03, Fla....

...Valois and Doris R. Valois, his wife; (b) that such corporation was formed and incorporated, at the insistence of the defendants and as a prerequisite to their making of the loan, as a sham contrivance or device, for the purpose of evading the provisions of section 687.03 of the Florida Statutes [F.S.A.] and charging and collecting a rate of interest greater than ten per cent. per annum; (c) that such contrivance or device was wilfully adopted and employed by the defendants and was a deliberate and flagrant violation of the provisions of such 687.03; and (d) that the defendants are subject, therefore, to the penalties prescribed by the provisions of section 687.04 of the Florida Statutes [F.S.A.]....

...s a device used by Investment to charge usurious interest, and erred in failing to find that Service and Investment were one and the same corporation. It is unnecessary for us to consider these issues, because even if Investment technically violated Section 687.03, Florida Statutes, there was no clear showing of corrupt intent to willfully violate the statute....

...s rate of interest. We reach this result based on the following, briefly stated, legal analysis. The note in question charged an interest rate of 24.99% which was plainly not usurious as the amount of money loaned herein was in excess of $500,000. §§ 687.03(1), 687.071, Fla....

...Indeed, no profits were realized as the project entirely failed and all agree that no payment whatever is due under the profit participation provision. Moreover, this profit participation provision is expressly authorized by our usury statutes as not constituting additional interest, § 687.03(4), Fla....

...interest on the loan [3] , and that interest was paid thereon semi-annually at the rate of 15% per annum before the principal matured [4] , the trial court was of the opinion that the plaintiff was not guilty of "wilfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 [Fla....

...t semi-annually thereafter clearly established the knowing and intentional charging and acceptance of interest in excess of 10% per annum. The loan was usurious, and having pleaded usury the borrower was entitled to forfeiture of the interest, under § 687.03 Fla....

...Accordingly the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded with directions to revise the judgment to exclude the allowance of interest and to reduce the principal by double the amount of interest paid. Reversed and remanded with directions. NOTES [1] § 687.03 Fla....

...th the corporation shall, whereby the corporation pays interest, be usury and unlawful if for a rate of interest greater than fifteen per cent per annum." [2] § 687.04 Fla. Stat., F.S.A. provides that any person wilfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 "shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, whether at law or in equity; and when said usuri...

...and 2) an agreement whereby Neumann would perform landscape consulting work on the Antonellis' condominium project. Neumann loaned appellants $100,000; the Antonellis executed two $50,000 notes at the statutory legal interest limit of 18% per annum. § 687.03, Fla....

...However, if such loan, advance of money, line of credit, forbearance to enforce the collection of a debt, or obligation exceeds $500,000 in amount or value, then no contract to pay interest thereon is usurious unless the rate of interest exceeds the rate prescribed in s. 687.071. (Emphasis added) Similarly, section 687.03(1), which defines unlawful rates of interests, provides: Except as provided herein, it shall be usury and unlawful ......

...ions of this section shall be an enforceable debt in the courts of this state. (Emphasis added) A review of the above statutes reveals that for loans under $500,000, a usurious contract is present if an interest rate exceeds 18%. Sections 687.02(1), 687.03(1)....

...Trial Court's Ruling The trial judge found that the transactions in this case involved a sum in excess of $500,000 and that both the original Option to repurchase and the Amendment were structured so that any return to appellees was speculative. The judge cited to section 687.03(4), [6] which exempts interests in profits, taken as an advance or forbearance for a loan, so long as the value of the property interest is dependent on the success of the venture in which the loan proceeds are used....

...Allen Whitson, Craig Lewis, Larry Y. Harrelson, Larall Enterprises (a Florida General Partnership) and Whit-Law Enterprises (a Florida General Partnership) were added. [3] The third amended complaint contained seven counts: Count 1: Usury, first transaction, under section 687.03; Count 2: Declaratory Judgment, Usury, first transaction, under section 687.071; Count 3, Declaratory Judgment, Usury, second transaction, under section 687.071; Count 4: Usury, second transaction, under section 687.03; Count 5: Quiet Title; Count 6: Civil Theft, section 772.11; and Count 7: Declaratory Judgment to declare deeds are mortgages or to cancel deeds....

...American Acceptance Corp. v. Schoenthaler, 391 F.2d 64 (5th Cir.1968) (Florida law). However, the fact that one receives more than the law permits is not fully determinative of whether usury is present. Wells v. Freedman, 342 So.2d 983 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). [6] Section 687.03(4) provides: If, as provided in subsection (3), a loan, ......

...rincipal of the debt should be held to be forfeited, but remanded the cause to the Master for further testimony on the question of whether the interest charged was more than 10 per cent and thus subject to forfeiture under the provisions of Sections 687.03 and 687.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A....

...ditional sum of money equal to twenty-five per cent per annum upon the principal sum loaned," as well as providing for a forfeiture of the principal and interest. A violation of Section 687.07 will be referred to in this opinion as "criminal usury." Section 687.03 provides that "It shall be * * * unlawful for any person, * * * to reserve, charge or take for any loan * * * a rate of interest greater than ten per cent per annum, either directly or indirectly * * *"; and Section 687.04 provides for the forfeiture of double the amount of interest so reserved, *33 charged or taken. A violation of Section 687.03 will be referred to in this opinion as "civil usury." Assuming that the findings of fact of the Master are correct, then the loan in the instant case, if allowed to run its full three years, would have carried an interest rate (includi...

...thus wilfully and knowingly exacted, taken and received by defendants for a loan of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) extended over a nine-month period is greater than lawful interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and in violation of 687.03 Florida Statutes 1951 [F.S.A.]....

...providing therefor." The sum of $6,000 charged as interest for Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) payable at the rate of $2,333.33 per month for twenty-four months appears to exceed the rate of 10% per annum and is therefore unlawful and violates Sec. 687.03, Florida Statutes Annotated. Section 687.04, F.S.A. prescribes the penalty for violation of Section 687.03 and provides that any one who wilfully violates *626 said section shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, contracted to be charged or reserved, and where usurious interest has been paid shall forfeit to the party from whom such u...

...ase Manhattan declared the loan in default. SAC filed suit in November, 1974 for usury. Chase Manhattan counterclaimed for foreclosure. Chase Manhattan argues that the variable interest charges are to be spread over the entire term of the loan under Section 687.03, Florida Statutes....

...To the contrary SAC contends that this statute provides only for the spreading of advances and forbearances. The trial judge has certified the following questions: I. WHETHER VARIABLE INTEREST CHARGES ARE TO BE "SPREAD" OVER THE LIFE OF A LOAN UNDER § 687.03(3), FLORIDA STATUTES. II. IF 687.03(3) PROVIDES ONLY FOR THE "SPREADING" OF ADVANCES AND FORBEARANCES, ARE VARIABLE INTEREST CHARGES TO BE SPREAD UNDER THE GENERAL RULE THAT THE ENTIRE TERM OF THE LOAN MUST BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING WHETHER A CONTRACT IS USURIOUS. We first note that at the time of the execution of the loan transaction, the subject statute [Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1973)] read as follows: "* 687.03 Unlawful rates of interest defined; proviso....

...he nature of, and taken into account in the calculation of, interest shall be spread over the stated term of the loan for the purpose of determining the rate of interest." [Emphasis Supplied] On June 18, 1974 this statute was amended and reads: [2] "687.03 `Unlawful rates of interest' defined; proviso....

...he purpose of determining the rate of interest. Moreover, for the purposes of this chapter, a loan shall be deemed a loan which exceeds $500,000 in amount or value if: .. ." [Emphasis Supplied] Again this statute was amended in 1977 as follows: [3] "687.03 `Unlawful rates of interest' defined; proviso....

...ctment of legislation to that effect abates such penalty even during the pending of an appeal from a final judgment predicated on such statutory penalty. Tel Service Co. v. General Capital Corp., 227 So.2d 667 (Fla. 1969). While it appears then that Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1977) is controlling, that statute provides that it is to operate prospectively. See Section 687.03(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1977). Therefore, under the holding in Tel Service Co., supra, Section 687.03(2), Florida Statutes (1975) is controlling....

...d" or "taken" refer to a method by which an advance or forbearance is collected. Chase Manhattan's argument that only the word "taken" is modified by the phrase "as an advance or forbearance" is contrary to the plain meaning of the statute. Although Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1977) is not controlling, nevertheless our conclusion above is reinforced by its title, Chapter 77-374, Laws of Florida (1977): "CHAPTER 77-374 "Senate Bill No. 1437 "ACT relating to interest and usury; amending s. 687.03(3), Florida Statutes, 1976 Supplement; providing a method for spreading an advance or forbearance over the stated term of a loan in order to compute the effective rate of interest; providing an effective date." This title clearly demonstrat...

...The parties agreed during oral argument before this court and stipulated before the trial court that we are not here concerned with "spreading": That the issue is whether the interest during the period that interest was being charged by the Bank at the rate of 10 per cent exceeded the maximum legal rate allowed by F.S. 687.03....

...that 10 per cent of a given sum results in a greater per diem rate if computed on a basis of a 360 day year than if computed on the basis of a 365 day year. Appellant urges that the difference is "de minimis" or not material. However we note that F.S. 687.03 affords no leeway....

...Davis cross assigned as error the amount of the money judgment as fixed by the trial court. We find that point to merit our attention. F.S. 687.04 provides: "Any person, or any agent, officer or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when, said usurio...

...The first type were “title loans,” which are defined as a “loan of money secured by bailment of a certificate of title to a motor vehicle.” FLA. STAT. § 538.03(1)(i) (1999). Such loans are not subject to Florida’s usury law and its eighteen percent per year interest ceiling. FLA. STAT. § 687.03 (1999)....

...[1] Specifically, Windjammer claimed that the interest rate — which floated from a high of twenty-two percent when the loans were first booked, to a low of fifteen percent when the final payment was made — had on several occasions during the life of the loans exceeded the eighteen percent usury ceiling imposed by section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1983)....

...n pari materia with Section 608.13, supra, or any other existing law. Whether a corporation of this State may interpose the defense of usury on obligations incurred subsequent to September 30, 1953, must be determined from the law as we find it now. Section 687.03, Florida Statutes 1951, F.S.A., provides: "687.03 Rate higher than ten per cent unlawful; proviso....

...Cape SanBlas Joint Venture, 378 So.2d 287 (Fla. 1979) (close connection between lender and broker included common stockholders, and there was found to be an intent by lender that a broker's commission be received by its agent). As to the second alleged ground of usury, the Swansons rely upon section 687.03(1), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...In such circumstances the court will examine the legality of the terms of the loan. Should that examination reveal that interest in excess of eighteen percent per annum has been charged for a loan, advance of money, or other obligation, the entire interest will be forfeited and only the principal can be enforced. § 687.03(1), Fla....

...d its option under the mortgage to declare the entire balance due and payable, hence this suit. In answer to the complaint, defendant alleged that said promissory note was usurious in that the interest reserved exceeded 15% per annum in violation of Section 687.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., which makes it unlawful for any person to reserve, except upon an obligation of a corporation, a rate of interest greater than 10% per annum, and defendant asserted that she was entitled under Section 687.04,...

...payments is 20.307% per annum; (c) an assignment of said mortgage and note from plaintiff to Equitable Credit & Discount Co.; and (d) a reassignment of said note and mortgage to the plaintiff. Except in certain instances not applicable to this suit, Section 687.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., makes it unlawful and usurious to exact from a private person interest in excess of 10% per annum, or from a corporation interest in excess of 15% per annum. Section 687.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., provides that one who willfully violates the provisions of Section 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity....

...mortgage. In that context it was said: "The mitigation of forfeiture just referred to results from an anomalous situation in this case which will later be brought out. The reservation of the interest in this case in addition to `civil usury' under §§ 687.03 and 687.04, F.S.A., also constituted `criminal usury' under § 687.07, F.S.A., in that in excess of twenty-five per cent per annum interest was reserved by operation of the two acceleration clauses which made no provision for the eliminatio...

...chedule reflect a rate of forty-two percent interest on the loan from appellees. Because this is a usurious rate of interest, appellants assert that the final judgment should be reduced in accordance with the penalty provisions of the usury statute. § 687.03, Fla....

...la. Stat. § 687.04. This Section provides, in pertinent part, as follows: § 687.04. Penalty for Usury: Not to Apply in Certain Situations Any person, or an agent, officer or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of s.687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any Court in this state, either at law or in equity; and once said usurious...

...ime the usurious interest was taken, to the borrower and makes whatever adjustments in the appropriate contract or account as are necessary to ensure that the borrower will not be required to pay further interest in excess of the amount permitted by s.687.03....

...Whether the purging provisions set forth in § 687.04(2) above apply to transactions which are criminally usurious has not been answered by the courts of this state and, therefore, this is a case of first impression. The first sentence of § 687.04 indicates that a forfeiture of interest will occur if the provisions of § 687.03 are violated. The difficulty arises because § 687.03(1) provides in, pertinent part, as follows: "However, if any loan, advance of money, line of credit, forbearance to enforce the collection of a debt, or obligations exceed $500,000 in amount of value, it shall not be usury or unlawful to re...

...fect at the time the usurious interest was taken; and (3) make whatever adjustments in the appropriate contract or account as are necessary to insure that the borrower will not be required to pay further interest in excess of the amount permitted by § 687.03....

...own upon its face, and as established by the evidence at the Final Hearing, did not exceed 8% per annum, as permitted by § 656.17, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., and the Court further finds that the provisions of § 687.02, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., and § 687.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., having to do with usury, are not applicable to loans made upon discount by industrial banks, such as PENSACOLA LOAN & SAVINGS BANK." The statute in question reads: "656.17 Industrial savings banks in addition to t...

...141, 142; 1946; Robinson and Nugent, REGULATION OF THE SMALL LOAN BUSINESS, 1935, pp. 90, 93; Prochnow, AMERICAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, 1951, pp. 731-734; Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 19, pp. 479, 480. [2] Milan V. Ayres, Ibid. [3] Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, Vol. XIV, Small Loans, pp. 109, 110. [4] § 687.03, Florida Statutes, F.S.A....

...s, documentary stamp taxes, other taxes, premiums on insurance, and other similar charges, if the bank deems the same necessary for the protection and security of said loan. * * *" F.S. § 656.17, F.S.A. [2] F.S. §§ 687.01, 687.02, F.S.A. [3] F.S. § 687.031, F.S.A.

...VILLANTI, Judge. Susan Velletri appeals the final judgment permitting Thomas W. Dixon to foreclose on a mortgage that secured a promissory note that Velletri claimed was criminally usurious. Because the calculations required by the plain language of section 687.03, Florida Statutes (2006), establish that the interest charged on the note was criminally usurious at the inception of the transaction, the note and its corresponding mortgage were unenforceable as a matter of law....

...Velletri appealed the final judgment, contending that the trial court erred by finding that the loan was only civilly usurious rather than criminally usurious. Dixon cross-appealed, contending that the trial court erred by finding that the loan was usurious at all. Sections 687.03, 687.04, and 687.071 provide statutory causes of action which allow a borrower to seek affirmative relief against a lender who has made a usurious loan. Civil usury involves loans of $500,000 or less with an interest rate greater than 18 percent and less than 25 percent. See § 687.03(1)....

...t of interest on the amount retained, that retention effectively increases the interest charged on the amounts actually advanced to the borrower, which can render an otherwise proper loan usurious. See Mindlin v. Davis, 74 So.2d 789, 793 (Fla.1954). Section 687.03(3) sets forth the methodology to be used to determine whether a loan is usurious when some of the loan proceeds have been retained by the lender at closing....

...In Hamm, the face amount of the loan was $290,000, the stated interest rate was 9 percent, and the lender withheld $5800 from the loan proceeds at closing. Id. at 1073. In determining whether the loan was usurious, the court used the following calculations: We hold that section 687.03(3) is clear on its face and should be applied in the following manner: 1....

...c) The effective rate of interest is 9% + 1% = 10%. Id. (citations omitted). Thus, under the statute in effect at the time Hamm was decided, the loan was not usurious because the effective interest rate did not exceed 10 percent. Id. The provisions of section 687.03(3) concerning the calculation of the effective interest rate have not changed since Hamm was decided, and thus the calculations that must be used in this case are the same....

....42 = 18.08% interest rate charged However, loan proceeds retained by the lender are considered additional interest, see Brown v. Home Credit Co., 137 So.2d 887, 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962), and do not reduce the "stated amount of the loan" identified in section 687.03(3), see Hamm, 414 So.2d at 1073....

...oceedings at the bench trial, as will be discussed below, the issue raised on cross-appeal does implicate questions of fact. [2] A loan greater than $500,000 with an interest rate greater than 18 percent but less than 25 percent is not usurious. See § 687.03(1).

...le and Krizmanich. All of the claims in the litigation were eventually resolved against RLS and Soto. They appeal, raising four issues for our consideration. [1] RLS's first issue concerns its only claim that was actually submitted to a jury, usury. Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1995), defines usury as "reserv[ing], charg[ing] or tak[ing] for any loan, advance of money, line of credit, forbearance to enforce the collection of any sum of money or other obligation a rate of interest greater th...

...efendants Silverstein, conspired to extract from the plaintiffs a large and exorbitant brokerage commission in connection with the mortgage loan while it was acting as agent of the defendants Silverstein with the object of avoiding the provisions of Section 687.03, Florida Statutes [F.S.A.], relating to usury....

...687.071." Section 687.071(7) provides that no "extension of credit" charging interest and payments in excess of 25% simple interest per annum "shall be an enforceable debt in the courts of this state.". Florida's usury statutes apply to "a rate of interest" charged against any loan or identified advance of money. Fla. Stat. § 687.03(1)....

...Because each loan was structured as requiring a series of advances rather than receiving the entire stated amount of the loan up front, the spreading statute contained in section 687.071(3) controls the calculation of the interest rate. St. Petersburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Hamm, 414 So.2d 1071, 1074 (Fla.1982) (section 687.03(3) supersedes section 687.03(1) “when an advance is required in a loan transaction.......

...Bratcher v. Wronkowski, 417 So.2d 1132 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), petition den., 424 So.2d 760 (Fla. 1982); Morton v. Ansin, 129 So.2d 177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961). Incidentally, the debt was greater than $500,000 so the highest lawful rate according to statute was 25%. § 687.03(1), Fla....

...The remaining and more serious contention on appeal is that the plaintiffs, by accepting the two lots in conjunction with the extension of the mortgage, willfully exacted usurious charges calling for a forfeiture of part or all of the mortgage indebtedness under Florida Statutes, Chapter 687, F.S.A. Section 687.03, F.S.A....

...provides that when a creditor makes a charge, directly or indirectly, whereby the debtor is obligated to pay á sum of money greater than the principal sum received plus interest at 10% it is usurious. Section 687.04 provides that whoever willfiitty violates the provisions of preceding Section 687.03 shall forfeit to the party from whom such usurious interest has been exacted double the amount of the interest so exacted....

...ed and received usurious interest on the Notes in violation of Chapter 687 of the Florida Statutes. In Count II, Plaintiff seeks recovery of the additional $56,000 in accounts receivable owed by Defendant to Omni. I. Turnover: Usury. Under Fla.Stat. § 687.03, it is "usury" and therefore unlawful for any person "to reserve, charge, or take for any loan ....

...General Capital Corp., 227 So.2d 667 (Fla.1969); Financial Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Burleigh House, Inc., 305 So.2d 59 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974), disapproved on other grounds, Catogas v. Southern Federal Savings & Loan, 369 So.2d 922 (Fla.1979). In the case of civil usury in violation of Fla.Stat. § 687.03, the borrower's remedy is to seek forfeiture of twice the amount of interest actually paid by the borrower....

...ed to the forfeiture of interest. The Court agrees with Suncrete. The pertinent portions of § 687.04, Florida Statutes, read as follows: Any person, or any agent, officer, or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of § 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity. . . . Under the terms of the statute, the only penalty for violating § 687.03, Florida Statutes, is a forfeiture of interest....

...e full amount of the wrap-around mortgage ($58,500.00) minus the outstanding principal balance on the first mortgage ($34,158.59). Consequently, Hool calculated the actual rate of interest to be 19.04%, which was more than the statutory rate of 18%. § 687.03, Fla....

...292 except in a writing signed by all parties. It is the Defendants' contention that the Agreement obligated the Defendants to pay an interest rate of 47% (see Affidavit of Cesar Rivero), which is usurious as that term is defined by Florida Statutes § 687.03(4)....

...Under Florida law, "[a]ll contracts for the payment of interest upon any loan, . . . at a higher rate of interest than the equivalent of 18 percent per annum simple interest" is usurious. F.S.A. § 687.02(1). It is unlawful for any person or entity to enforce collection of an usurious interest rate. F.S.A. § 687.03. If any person or entity through a representative willfully violates § 687.03 by enforcing a usurious interest rate, that person or entity forfeits the entire interest so charged....

...he state court judgment and determine whether the interest charged is forfeited pursuant to F.S.A. § 687.04. III. Usury. The pertinent issue is whether the mortgagee willfully enforced an interest rate in excess of 18 percent in violation of F.S.A. § 687.03....

...d to use its mortgage brokers status to exempt this transaction from Chapter 687. Since the transaction is not exempt from Chapter 687, the Court finds that Mortgage Finance intended to enforce an usurious interest rate and willfully violated F.S.A. § 687.03....

...Abramowitz contends that the $4,000.00 mortgage loan discount should also be treated as interest making the total interest $40,347.78 on a principal loan of $396,000.00 and a rate of interest of 10.19%. At the time the loan was executed, the maximum interest chargeable to an individual was 10%. Fla. Stat. § 687.03 (1973)....

...draw the loan funds over an extended period rather than all at once, and would pay interest on only the monies actually received. The lower court ruled that even if the $5,800 loan charge were treated as interest the loan would not be usurious under Section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes....

...d. We hold that the trial court erred on both points and therefore reverse. The parties have raised three issues, which we shall consider in turn. (1) Is the $5,800 commitment fee properly characterized as interest? (2) Does resort to the formula in Section 687.03(3) constitute a retroactive application? (3) Does the formula in Section 687.03(3) cause the transaction to be free of usury? THE COMMITMENT FEE If the $5,800 commitment fee is not interest, the loan could not be deemed usurious....

...For purposes of our consideration of the correctness of the summary judgment, however, we shall assume, as did the lower court, that the $5,800 reserved from the principal was in actuality a charge for the use of the money, i.e., interest. RETROACTIVITY By 1977 the legislature had amended Section 687.03(3) to read in pertinent part as follows: For the purpose of this chapter, the rate of interest on any loan of money shall be determined and computed upon the assumption that the debt will be paid according to the agreed terms, whether...

...d usurious unless the law states that it is at the time of final adjudication. Tel Service Co., Inc. v. General Capital Corporation, 227 So.2d 667 (Fla. 1969). Here, however, appellant argues that the legislature expressed a clear intent to make the Section 687.03(3) formula apply only to notes executed after its enactment. We do not agree. Appellant bases his argument on Section 687.03(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1977). Prior to 1976 there was no subsection (2)(b). That year the legislature amended Section 687.03 to provide certain exemptions from the usury laws. Ch. 76-124, Laws of Florida. Section 1 of Chapter 76-124 contained a list of those exemptions and specifically placed them as subsection (2) of Section 687.03....

...tive date of this act. All present laws shall remain in full force and effect as to loans or advances of credit made prior to the effective date of this act. The legislature made no statement in Chapter 76-124 as to the placement of Section 2 within Section 687.03, but the Statutory Revision Division of the Joint Legislative Management Committee divided subsection (2) of Section 687.03 into subsections (a) and (b) and placed Section 2 of Chapter 76-124 into subsection (2)(b) of Section 687.03. In 1977, the legislature amended Section 687.03(3) by adding the formula for computing advance interest. That amendment was Chapter 77-374, Laws of Florida, and contained neither a prospective application clause nor a republication of Section 687.03(2)(b)....

...2)(b) to apply to the formula in subsection (3). Moreover, the legislature's use of the word "act" in subsection (2)(b) convinces us that the legislature meant subsection (2)(b) to apply only to those matters contained in Chapter 76-124 which is now Section 687.03(2)(a) and not to the rest of Section 687.03....

...[2] Consequently, in deciding whether appellant's loan is usurious, the legal effect of the formula must be considered. As we view this case, however, we don't think this changes anything. We hold the trial court erred in construing the formula now in Section 687.03(3) as changing the requirement of 687.03(1) or the rule in Wilson v....

...To illustrate, he posits a mortgage loan transaction in which the lender "lends" $10,000.00 represented by a note and mortgage for $10,000 payable in ten years with interest at the rate of 5% per annum. However, $5,000 of the principal represented an additional interest charge. Applying the "formula" of Section 687.03(3) in the form set out above, the interest would be computed as follows: 1....

...[4] This subsection also serves to specifically reject the contention often made that courts should treat the full amount of advance interest as a charge which must be taken into account in the first year. E.g., Montgomery Federal Savings & Loan Assn. v. Baer, 308 A.2d 768 (D.C.App. 1973). [5] Ten percent in Section 687.03(1), Florida Statutes at the time of this case; 18% at the time of this writing....

...perty. The Catogases filed a complaint against Southern Federal, alleging that it intentionally, willfully, and knowingly charged them interest which exceeded the ten percent per annum lawful interest rate and which amounted to usury in violation of section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1975)....

...intervals commencing on November 7, 1975, resulted in an effective interest rate of more than ten percent. In an amended complaint, they further alleged that section 665.395, if it is applied to exempt Southern Federal from liability for usury under section 687.03, is unconstitutional....

...y. The classification of lenders exempted by section 665.395 from the usury law has a basis in real differences of conditions affecting the subject matter regulated. In Cesary, we likewise held that the classifications of lenders created by sections 687.031 and 656.17(1), Florida Statutes, were not unreasonable and arbitrary....

...A defendant is entitled to a much more specific allegation of the essential elements of the predicate "illegal debt" than a mere reference to a statute which itself refers generally to many other statutes relating to many types of illegal gambling and usurious debts. Sections 687.02 and 687.03 define contracts for interest in excess of 18% per annum to be usurious and make it unlawful to reserve, charge or take such interest....

...Chapter 687 appears to relate, not only to the criminal usury provisions of 687.071(2) and (3) ( see § 687.071(7), Fla. Stat.) but also to the civil penalty in section 687.04 which provides, in effect, that interest charged in willful violation of section 687.03 (interest in excess of 18% per annum) is forfeited and that a contract for such interest is a legally unenforceable debt....

..., or associated with, any enterprise to collect an unlawful debt and the definition of an "unlawful debt" under section 895.02(2)(a)3. includes a debt for interest legally unenforceable under section 687.04 because it is in excess of 18% provided in section 687.03; whereas "receiving" usurious interest exceeding 25% but not 45% is but a second degree misdemeanor under section 687.071(2)....

...hat degree of "corruptness", "bad faith", or "scheming design" that must be proved in Florida to satisfy the statutory penalty visited upon any person or any agent, officer or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of § 687.03; Florida Statutes, F.S.A....

...Generally, the usury law to be applied is that in effect at the time the court renders its decision unless the then current law provides otherwise. The statute in effect at the time of the decision herein, section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1981), provides for a penalty of double the interest received. However, section 687.03(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1981), expressly provides that the act shall apply only to loans and advances of credit made subsequent to the effective date of the Act and is clearly inapplicable to this case since the statute operates prospectively....

...rm of judgment consistent with this memorandum decision and order. NOTES [1] Deposition of Nelson Tobin taken March 27, 2002 ("Tobin Dep."), at 9-10; Deposition of Hilary Jon Lerner taken April 1, 2002 ("Lerner Dep."), at 18-19. [2] Under Fla. Stat. § 687.03 , it is "usury" and therefore unlawful for any person "to reserve, charge, or take for any loan ....

...y any contract, contrivance, or device whatever whereby the debtor is required or obligated to pay a sum of money greater than the actual principal sum received, together with interest at the rate of the equivalent of 18% per annum simple interest." § 687.03, Fla....

...During oral argument on June 20, 2011, the Court primarily focused upon whether to include or exclude the Interest Reserve as additional interest under the Loan, which is required to be "spread" over the term of the Loan pursuant to the usury formulas found in Florida Statute Section 687.03(3) and further enumerated by the Florida Supreme Court in St....

...dvance or as additional interest, and, as such, should be excluded from any usury calculation herein. 27. The methodology for calculating interest in transactions exceeding $500,000.00 is described under the "spreading" provisions of Florida Statute Section 687.03(3), which provides a formula to compute the rate of interest in order to determine if a transaction is usurious and states in part: ......

...he trial *907 court's analysis that interest only would be calculated against the face amount (the "stated amount") of the note which may not necessarily be the same as the "actual principal sum received". Id. at 1073-1074. Following Florida Statute Section 687.03, the Supreme Court first computed the advance as a percentage of the total stated amount of the loan, then divided that rate by the term of the loan in years, and then added that figure to the stated annual percentage rate on the loan...

...Thus, any recovery by Manning can only be as allowed by statute and not based on Manning’s contract with the general contractor. 3  this section, which may be made in connection with the loan or other extension of credit as provided by law of this state. § 687.03(2)(c), Fla....

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 687.03(3), Fla.Stat. (1985).

Pasternak v. Brook, 528 So.2d 1354 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); § 687.03, Fla.Stat. (1987). Treated alternatively as a

FERGUSON, Judge. Section 687.03(5)(a), Florida Statutes (1979) which raised the legal interest rate

...ficult question. If the contractual rate of interest is governed by the Florida Statute in effect at the time the loan documents were executed, it is clearly usurious since the maximum allowable rate of interest at that time was 10%. See, Fla. Stat. 687.03(1) (1977)....

...ied that Florida has a normal relationship with the transaction and, therefore, its law controls this controversy. Continental Mortgage, supra. The second question presented for this Court’s determination is whether the 1979 amendment to Fla.Stat. § 687.03(1) should be given retroactive effect....

...es, discounts, exchange, or by any contract, contrivance or device whatever, whereby the debtor is required or obligated to pay a sum of money greater than the actual principal sum received, together with interest at the rate of 10% ...” Fla.Stat. § 687.03(1) (1977)....

...s or advances of credit completed prior to that date.” 1979 Fla.Laws, Ch. 79-274, § 15. However, on December 13, 1979, the applicability of this prospective application clause was redefined by amendment and codified as subsection (5) in Fla.Stat. § 687.03 (Supp.1982) which now reads: “As amended by Chapter 79-592, Laws of Florida Chapter 79-274, Laws of Florida, which amended subsection (1); (a) Shall apply to loans, advances of credit or lines of credit made on or subsequent to July 1, 19...

6938 C.G.L., 4851, R.G.S., now appearing as Section 687.03 Florida Statutes 1941. This statute provides

...Appellant and appellee agree that the agreement was not usurious at its inception; however, appellant contends that the amount of $27,668 which it paid for the right to terminate the agreement constituted an usurious interest charge, i.e., a rate in excess of 15% per annum, in violation of Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1975)....

exceeding 25 percent per annum is criminal usury.3 Section 687.03(1), Florida Statutes, states that an unlawful

...d various discount, commitment and modification “fees”, at least some of which would surely be considered interest and subject to being “spread over the stated term of the loan for the purpose of determining the rate of interest”, under F.S. § 687.03(2); Financial Federal Savings and Loan Assn....

...se by FNMA. This failure arises from the lack of proof of any connection between FNMA and appellee, either directly, or through appellee’s parent corporation. It is not enough that the loan ultimately come into the possession of FNMA; the terms of Section 687.03(2)(a)(3) require the loan to be made pursuant to a commitment to purchase by FNMA....

...Thus, Count I of appellants’ second amended complaint did not state a cause of action for recovery of both principal and interest under either of the aforementioned statutes. However, Count I does state a cause of action under F.S. § 687.04, F.S.A., for recovery of interest resulting from a violation of F.S. § 687.03, F.S.A....

...[[Image here]] If the promissory note and mortgage were enforced, the Perrys would be required to pay to Hibbs a sum of money *237 greater than the actual principal received by them, together with interest at the rate of eighteen (18%) percent per an-num. Accordingly, under the criteria set forth in Florida Statute 687.03(1) the transaction was usurious.......

...t by the mortgagor.’” (quoting JP Morgan Chase v. New Millennial, LC, 6 So. 3d 681, 685 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009))); § 95.11(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (providing that the statute of limitations is five years for “[a]n action to foreclose a mortgage.”); § 687.03, Fla....

was infected with usury in violation of F.S. section 687.03, F.S.A., and therefore the basic debt, both

...At the hearing, the Liquidating Agent advanced three basic arguments in opposition to OYBS' contention that the contingent nature of the OYBS Agreement removes it from the operation of the usury laws. First, the Liquidating Agent relied on Fla. Stat. § 687.03(4), which provides as follows: If, as provided in subsection (3), a loan, advance of money, line of credit, forbearance, or other obligation exceeds $500,000, then, for the purposes of this chapter, interest on that loan, advance of money,...

...med usurious by implication regardless of whether repayment of the amount financed is contingent. 11. The Liquidating Agent's argument is not supported by the language of the statute or the case law construing the usury statutes. 12. Florida Statute § 687.03(4) merely provides that when a loan or financing arrangement includes as part of the consideration to the lender a transfer of property, the value of which "substantially" depends on the success of the venture being financed (e.g., stock or...

...ed 12% amount. See Bailey v. Harrington, 462 So.2d 861 (loan in excess of $500,000 with stated interest rate of 24.99% was not usurious—"profit participation" given by lender as additional consideration was not counted in calculating interest under § 687.03(4)). This is a different situation than a purely contingent financing arrangement of the type addressed in Kraft , Valliappan , L'Arbalete , etc. 13. Florida Statute § 687.03(4) has been on the books in substantially its current form for nearly forty years, and the cases decided during this period of time have held that loans under $500,000.00 were not subject to the usury laws where repayment of interest or "return" was subject to a contingency. See, e.g., Kraft, 668 So.2d at 681 ($100,000 loan); Valliappan, 917 So.2d at 260 ($150,000 loan); Schwab, 362 So.2d at 298 ($37,000 loan). 14. In short, Fla. Stat. § 687.03(4) does not expressly or by implication overrule the substantial body of law that contingent, at-risk financing arrangements, including those less than $500,000.00, fall outside of the usury laws....

...3 *1371 After IMC was placed in receivership by the Department of Insurance, First American timely filed its proof of claim now under review. The Department, as receiver, objected to the claim on grounds that, among others, the loans described above were usurious and unenforceable under the provisions of sections 687.03 and 687.071, Florida Statutes (1987)....

...s market value to the payee at the time the promise is given because the payee is deprived of the use of the funds during the period that payment is deferred. Simply stated, the sum to be paid must be discounted in value due to the delay in payment. Section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes (1987), specifically provides that for purposes of that chapter the rate of interest on the loan in question “shall be determined and computed upon the assumption that the debt will be paid according to agreed te...

...Even though IMC may well have been able to demonstrate that the preferred stock had a value equal at least to its par value should the corporation be dissolved, and that its recited par value was fully secured by the pledge of IMC’s personalty, this approach to valuation disregards the mandate of section 687.03 that *1374 valuation be determined “upon the assumption that the debt would be' paid according to the agreed terms.” This requirement applies just as much in determining the value of an agreement for the future payment of interest...

usurious interest on the note contrary to F.S. § 687.03, F.S.A. The complaint alleges that on January

2d 667 (Fla.1969). 4. The present Usury Act, Section 687.03 F.S.F.S.A. (1980) condemns as usurious as applied

...es under section 687.04. NOTES [1] Abramowitz v. Barnett Bank of West Orlando, 356 So.2d 329 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 364 So.2d 880 (1978). [2] At the time the loan was consummated, the maximum interest rate chargeable to an individual was 10%. Section 687.03, Florida Statutes (1973)....

...Stein, for appellee. Before FERNANDEZ, C.J., and GORDO and BOKOR, JJ. PER CURIAM.  Affirmed. St. Petersburg Bank & Tr. Co. v. Hamm, 414 So. 2d 1071, 1073 (Fla. 1982) (outlining specific methodology for computing interest pursuant to section 687.03(3), Florida Statutes); Rebman v....

the basis of a violation of the usury statute. § 687.03, Fla.Stat. (1977). Apparently in reliance on Smith

loan was 46 percent and therefore usurious under § 687.03 (civil remedy) and § 687.071 (criminal penalty)

equivalent of 18 percent per annum simple interest. § 687.03(1), Fla. Stat. (2004); see also N. Dade Church