REAL ESTATE CORNER
REAL ESTATE CORNER
Florida Real Property and Business Litigation Report
MANUEL FARACH
Casa Express Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Case No. 24-11642( 11th Cir. 2025). A district court lacks ancillary jurisdiction over supplementary proceedings seeking to impose constructive trust liability on third parties not already obligated to pay an existing judgment where the action is founded upon different facts and theories of liability than the original lawsuit.
Shen v. Commissioner, Case No. 23-12737( 11th Cir. 2025). Florida ' s Senate Bill 264 property registration and affidavit requirements survive equal protection scrutiny where plaintiffs demonstrated standing to challenge registration and affidavit provisions but failed to establish substantial likelihood of success on the merits and where plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the purchase restriction itself where none showed concrete and particularized injury from that specific provision.
Saadi v. Maroun, Case No. 22-11020( 11th Cir. 2025). The Eleventh Circuit certifies questions to the Florida Supreme Court concerning whether money judgments are available under Florida Statute section 56.29( 3)( b), whether fraudulently transferred funds must be identifiable under that provision, and whether 2014 and 2016 amendments to section 56.29 apply retroactively to claims accruing before enactment.
Storey Mountain v. Del Amo( In re Del Am), Case No. 24-13216, 2024 F. 3d( 11th Cir. 2024). Joint bank accounts without an express disclaimer of tenancy by the entirety on the signature card are held as a tenancy by the entirety exempt from creditor attachment despite the statutory amendment to Florida Statute section 655.791( authorizing written disclaimers) as the amended statute does not abrogate the common-law requirement of an express written disclaimer as established in Beal Bank.
In re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin., Case No. SC2024-1778( Fla. 2025). Florida Rules of General Practice 2.215, 2.265, and 2.430 are amended to require circuit courts to publish local rules and administrative orders on their websites, to delete statutory provisions regarding municipal ordinance violations, and to modernize record retention requirements by replacing references to " permanently recorded records " with " electronic records " and establishing retention schedules for electronic records.
In re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Civ. P. 1.440 & 1.500, No. SC2022-0575( Fla. 2025). Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.440 and 1.500 are amended to clarify that motions for default must be filed and served on the party to be defaulted before the clerk may enter default, that parties retain full rights to notice and service of all filings until default is entered, and that orders setting actions for trial must be served on defaulted parties when damages are not liquidated or when otherwise required by Rule 1.500( e).
In re Amendments to Fla. Rule of Civ. P. 1.442 & Forms 1.902 & 1.938, No. SC2025- 0045( Fla. 2025). Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 is amended to modernize language and clarify settlement proposal procedures; Form 1.902 is amended to permit defendants to file responses through the Florida Courts E-filing Portal or with the clerk and to provide information about legal assistance resources; and Form 1.938 is amended to require plaintiffs to disclose the legal description and address of the subject property, how the defendant obtained possession, whether plaintiff is the owner, and if not, how plaintiff is entitled to possession.
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 23
Carney v. City of Cape Coral, Case No. 1D2024-3084( Fla. 1st DCA 2025). An administrative law judge lacks jurisdiction to set a hearing on attorneys ' fees where the movant failed to obtain a ruling before the ALJ relinquished jurisdiction to the agency and the agency declined to remand for fee proceedings.
Pasco Cypress Creek DST v. Neidinger, Case No. 2D2024-1982( Fla. 2d DCA 2025). A landlord ' s counterclaim seeking unpaid prorated month-to-month rent and repair costs does not seek the same liquidated damages fee as the tenant ' s Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act claim; judgment on the pleadings is improper where the counterclaim raises distinct contractual theories not identical to the underlying FCCPA violation.
College Health II GP, Inc. v. Zahid, Case No. 3D24-2131( Fla. 3d DCA 2025). Summary judgment is properly denied where genuine disputes of material fact exist as to whether buyers breached a purchase and sale agreement by interfering with seller ' s ability to provide marketable title at closing.
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