REAL ESTATE CORNER
REAL ESTATE CORNER
Florida Real Property and Business Litigation Report
MANUEL FARACH
Casiano v . Casiano , Case No . 5D23-0010 ( Fla . 5th DCA 2023 ). Florida ’ s Partition Act , Florida Statutes Chapter 64 , holds that while all parties to are entitled to an award of attorney ’ s fees and costs , the amount of attorneys ’ fees to be apportioned amongst the parties is within the discretion of the trial court .
Schultz Builders & Pools , Inc . v . Icon Welding & Fabrication , LLC , Case No . 2D22- 4138 ( Fla 2d DCA 2023 ). Venue may lie with regard to any count of a multi-count complaint , thus failure to seek a change of venue as to all counts waives the right to object to venue for the entire suit .
Evans v . Diaz , Case No . 4D22-2733 ( Fla . 4th DCA 2023 ). The party seeking to enforce an attorneynegotiated settlement must prove that the opposing party ’ s attorney had the client ’ s “ clear and unequivocal grant of authority ” to negotiate on the client ’ s behalf or that the client subsequently ratified the unauthorized offer .
Marlowe v . City of St . Augustine , Case No . 5D21-2407 ( Fla . 5th DCA 2023 ). In rem and quasi in rem actions against real property do not require personal jurisdiction over the defendant , only compliance with the statutory requirements for service by publication . Moreover , riparian rights of “ an unobstructed view ” and “ access ” must be recognized over an area as near “ as practicable ” without the application of right angles to the shoreline and it matters not whether the lands competing for rights are adjacent to each other .
The Blind Monk , LLC v . USO v . Norge Whitney , LLC , Case No . 4D22-569 ( Fla . 4th DCA 2023 ). A tenant holding a right of first refusal on property must be provided information regarding the offered purchase price of the property otherwise the sale of the property , including to a bulk purchaser of condominium units , is not valid .
Taylor v . Nicholson-Williams , Inc ., Case
No . 5D22-1410 ( Fla . 5th DCA 2023 ). Real estate brokers are not third-party beneficiaries of non-reliance clauses such as in Billington v . Ginn-LA Pine Island ,
Ltd ., 192 So . 3d 77 ( Fla . 5th DCA 2016 ), and Florida Statutes Chapter 475 imposes duties on all – not just residential – brokers .
Grove Harbour Marina and Caribbean Marketplace , LLC v . Grove Bay Investment Group , LLC , Case No . 3D21-0806 ( Fla . 3d DCA 2023 ). Agreements regarding redevelopment of real property and re-alignment of a public roadway which require contribution of real property which set forth the property to be contributed only through imprecise sketches are ambiguous and not capable of enforcement through summary judgment .
McCormick Properties of Miami , LLC v . SoMi Homes , LLC , Case No . 3D22-1006 ( Fla . 3d DCA 2023 ). Landscaping of a swale area that has been dedicated to the public is consistent with the dedication ’ s language which contemplates “ future planting trees and shrubbery ,” even if the trees and shrubbery may impact use by others , and is thus consistent with the rule that an owner ’ s intention to dedicate land to the public for a particular use must be consistent with the public ’ s acceptance of such a use .
American Automobile Insurance Company v . FDH Infrastructure Services , LLC , Case No . 3D22-1143 ( Fla . 3d DCA 2023 ). Florida Statute section 95.11 ( 3 ) ( four year statute of limitations ) applies narrowly to only construction-based claims while section 95.11 ( 4 ) ( two year statute of limitation ) is broader and encompasses any “ professional malpractice ” action .
Wells Fargo Bank , N . A . v . Avers , Case No . 2D22-478 ( Fla . 2d DCA 2023 ). A party is entitled to participate in possible distribution of surplus foreclosure funds even if it files a request for surplus funds before the Clerk issues its Certificate of Disbursements .
41 Acquisition Holdings , LLC v . Haff , Case
No . 3D21-1088 ( Fla . 3d DCA 2023 ). An attorney ’ s fees provision which is missing a verb , commingles several objectives into one clause , and lacks language regarding the claim for fees in question is not clear and unambiguous and does not entitle the prevailing party to an award of fees .
Clarke v . Global Guaranteed Goods And Services , Inc ., Case No . 6D23-0112 ( 6th DCA 2023 ). A trial court errs when it modifies a written settlement agreement to give the payor more time to pay than set forth in the agreement .
Luft v . Department of Business and Professional Regulation , Florida Real Estate Commission , Case No . 6D23-323 ( 6th DCA 2023 ). The question whether to re-issue a revoked real estate license is controlled by the more specific Florida Statute section 475.17 ( 1 )( a ) dealing with real estate licenses , not the general license revocation procedure of Florida Statute section 455.227 ( 5 ) which holds that revoked license cannot be reissued .
Petzold v . Castro , Case No . 2D22-4024 ( Fla . 2d DCA 2023 ). The inadvertent disclosure of a nonsubstantive email arising from a failed real estate transaction does not constitute a complete waiver of the attorneyclient privilege , even if the clawback requirements of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.285 ( a ) have not been met .
Morales v . Iqbal , Case No . 4D22-1852 ( Fla . 4th DCA 2023 ). A trial court may award damages if it finds that a claim for specific performance for sale of real estate is not possible because the property has been sold to a third party .