Florida Real Property And Business Litigation Report
Volume XVI, Issue 42
October 21, 2023
Manuel Farach
Noble Prestige Limited v. Galle, Case No. 22-11520 (11th Cir. 2023).
The Doctrine of Prior Exclusive Jurisdiction under Princess Lida of Thurn & Taxis v. Thompson, 305 U.S. 456 (1939), holds that a court of competent jurisdiction that first obtains possession, custody, or control of particular property cannot have its possession disturbed by another court.
In Re: Amendments To Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530 and Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.530, Case No. SC2022-0756 (Fla. 2023).
The words “sufficiency of a trial court’s findings in the final judgment” in subdivision (a) of both rules is replaced with “failure of the trial court to make required findings of fact in the final judgment” to make clear the rule applies only when a judge is required to make specific findings of fact and not when a party seeks to make other challenges to a trial court’s order.
Ramle International Corp. v. Miami-Dade County, Case No. 3D20-0114 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).
Florida Statue section 197.502(4) holds that a party seeking tax deed sale surplus funds must establish it was one of the persons listed under the statute to recover surplus funds, i.e., “the titleholder to the property up for sale, ‘[a]ny lienholder of record who has recorded a lien against the property,’ and ‘[a]ny mortgagee of record.’”
Miami Dade College v. Nader + Museu I, LLLP, Case Nos. 3D20-663 and 3D20-1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).
A trial court may offset competing judgments when the entry of separate judgments would create an absurd result.
Green Tech Development, LLC v. Kahn & Resnik, PL, Case No. 4D2022-2194 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023).
A debtor may overcome a prima facie case of an account stated by proving fraud, mistake, or error in the account but a party’s objection to only certain items on the bill implicitly admits the correctness of those items not challenged.
Waterside at Boynton Homeowners’ Association, Inc. v. Southern Homes Of Palm Beach, LLC, Case No. 4D2022-2211 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023).
A settlement agreement may be set aside for mutual mistake of fact, but only if the mistake is mutual (the parties agreed to one thing and the written agreement expresses something different due to either a scrivener’s error or inadvertence) and the fact is of the essence of the contract.