In a civil action for collection of a worthless check, the Florida Statute requires that an award of triple the amount of the worthless check against the issuer in addition to, the face value of the check be awarded. In other words, in a lawsuit for treble damages against the drawer for issuing a worthless check, the payee is entitled to three times the value of the worthless check, in addition to the face amount of the check. However, the statute is only applicable to checks or other instruments that have been validly delivered to a payee. On the other hand, a maker of a worthless check is not entitled to a defense of a conditional delivery with respect to a vendor's worthless check action where the check was not given to the vendor subject to some condition precedent. For instance, where a the check was delivered as a deposit to bind the vendor to the real estate contract, and having received the benefit of the check, the purchaser could not now offer an oral agreement that would nullify the effects of that written instrument.

Additionally, the face amount of a worthless check is not an element of the statutory damages within the meaning of the statute. Therefore, in an action for collection of a worthless check the trial court could not waive payment of the face amount of the check, since the term "statutory damages" refers to damages created by the statute, which are treble damages.

A cause of action for collecting a worthless check, draft or order of payment may have many complex issues. Therefore, you should consult with an experienced West Palm Beach collections lawyer. Call Sharmin & Sharmin P.A. at 1-800-74-TRIAL.