Recent Decisions in Business Litigation and Real Estate Law: Recently, cases of interest to the business litigation and real estate litigation communities were ruled upon. Below are the case styles and their main decree:
Hall v. Animals.com, L.L.C., — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 4660127 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015).
A party seeking transfer of a case under forum non conveniens must submit timely affidavits so that the trial court can determine the witnesses and the significance of their testimony and so that party opposing has adequate opportunity to counter the evidence.
Arrasola v. MGP Motor Holdings, LLC, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 4634686 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015).
The change in Florida Statute section 682.03(1)(b) from “hear” to “decide” indicates that a trial court may summarily dispose, without hearing, a motion to compel arbitration.
Moreno v. First Intern. Title, Inc., — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 4637238 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015).
A party to a contract cannot claim she signed it without reading it unless she can prove circumstances that prevented her reading the contract. Accordingly, a party who signs a disclosure at closing attesting to code enforcement liens on the property she is buying cannot later sue the title agent for breach of fiduciary duty regarding the liens.
Unlike a charging lien, an attorney’s retaining lien “covers the balance due for all legal work done on behalf of the client regardless of whether the property is related to the matter [in which the property is held].” The attorney under a retaining lien may retain the property until the attorney is paid, the client can demonstrate a compelling need for the property, or the client posts adequate security in place of the lien.
Balch v. LaSalle Bank N.A., — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 3759716 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).
Evidence that a lender transferred a note into a pooling service agreement (PSA) is, by itself, insufficient to establish standing as the lender must also introduce evidence that the transfer into the PSA likewise included a transfer of the interest in the note to the trustee of the pool.
CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Turner, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 4623656 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).
A co-tenant who does not sign the promissory note for a loan but co-signs the mortgage encumbering the entire property (not just the co-tenant’s interest) may be foreclosed of his interest upon default by the borrowers even if he signed the mortgage with a “Limited Purpose Execution” notation under his signature.
Snowden v. Wells Fargo Bank, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 4623731 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).
A borrower seeking to overturn a judgment (after trial) of foreclosure claiming lack of standing must provide a transcript of the lender’s testimony or evidence of standing, even if the pleadings might raise a question of standing.
