State Not Immune from Suit for Breach of Contact

In Pan-Am Tobacco Corp. v. Department of Corrections, 471 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 1984), the Court held that the state is not immune from suit for breach of contract and specifically stated that "where the legislature has, by general law, authorized entities of the state to enter into contract or to undertake those activities which, as a matter of practicality, require entering into a contract, the legislature has clearly intended that such contracts be valid and binding on both parties." 471 So. 2d at 5. Pan-Am Tobacco interpreted the contractual powers of the state. In contrast, municipalities have long possessed both the power to execute contracts and the concomitant liability for their breach.