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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

The case arises from a nine-count complaint involving multiple parties seeking rescission and other relief based on allegations of fraud and conspiracy. A notice of lis pendens was filed with the original complaint. The trial court denied a motion to dissolve the notice of lis pendens, holding that the notice was maintainable as a matter of right based on precedent from Boca Raton Land Development, Inc. v. Sparring. The defendants subsequently filed a petition for writ of certiorari challenging this order. This opinion addresses that petition.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether an action seeking rescission based on allegations of fraud and conspiracy is an action "founded on a duly recorded instrument" within the meaning of section 48.23(3), Florida Statutes (1983), thereby entitling the plaintiff to maintain a notice of lis pendens as a matter of right.
  2. Whether the trial court erred in maintaining the notice of lis pendens without requiring bond or other protections analogous to those in injunction proceedings.
  3. Whether the precedent of Boca Raton Land Development, Inc. v. Sparring should be receded from to the extent it conflicts with more recent case law interpreting section 48.23(3).

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Feinstein v. Dolene, Inc., 455 So.2d 1126 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) Interpretation that an action to rescind a deed is not "founded on a duly recorded instrument" and thus the notice of lis pendens is not maintainable as a matter of right. Used to support the view that a notice of lis pendens in such cases is subject to court control and possible discharge.
Mohican Valley, Inc. v. MacDonald, 443 So.2d 479 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984) Similar interpretation as Feinstein regarding lis pendens and recorded instruments. Reinforces the statutory requirement for court control over lis pendens not founded on duly recorded instruments.
Kent v. Kent, 431 So.2d 279 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983) Supports the principle that actions not founded on recorded instruments require court scrutiny of lis pendens. Affirms the court's authority to dissolve notices of lis pendens in such cases.
Hough v. Bailey, 421 So.2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) Interprets statutory control over lis pendens when not based on recorded instruments. Supports the court's discretion to dissolve lis pendens notices.
Glusman v. Warren, 413 So.2d 857 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982) Follows the line of cases requiring court oversight of lis pendens notices not grounded in recorded instruments. Used to justify controlling and potentially dissolving such notices.
Florida Peach Corp. of America v. Lurie, 411 So.2d 339 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982) Represents the contrary view allowing lis pendens maintenance in certain cases not strictly founded on recorded instruments. Not followed; receded from in Mohican Valley and this opinion.
Chapman v. L N Grove, Inc., 244 So.2d 154 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971) Contrary precedent supporting broader maintenance of lis pendens notices. Not adopted; considered contrary authority.
Boca Raton Land Development, Inc. v. Sparring, 397 So.2d 1053 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) Permitted maintenance of lis pendens as a matter of right in cases like the present. Receded from to the extent inconsistent with the current opinion.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court analyzed the statutory provision in section 48.23(3), Florida Statutes (1983), which allows the court to control and discharge a notice of lis pendens unless the action is founded on a duly recorded instrument or a mechanic's lien. The court distinguished between actions founded on recorded instruments, such as mortgage foreclosures, where the notice of lis pendens is a matter of right, and actions like rescission of a deed based on fraud, which are not founded on the recorded instrument itself but on extrinsic circumstances.

The court emphasized that a notice of lis pendens in cases not founded on recorded instruments can cloud title and thus requires judicial scrutiny akin to injunction proceedings, including consideration of bond and protections for property owners and lienholders.

Relying on a line of cases consistent with this interpretation, the court receded from prior precedent (Sparring) that allowed maintenance of lis pendens as a matter of right in such circumstances. The trial court's failure to apply this standard and to require appropriate protections constituted a departure from the essential requirements of law, justifying certiorari relief.

Holding and Implications

CERTIORARI GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED; REMANDED.

The court held that the trial court erred in maintaining the notice of lis pendens as a matter of right without applying the statutory standard requiring court control and possible discharge. The order denying dissolution of the notice of lis pendens was quashed and the case remanded for reconsideration consistent with section 48.23(3), Florida Statutes (1983).

The direct effect is to require trial courts to scrutinize notices of lis pendens in actions not founded on duly recorded instruments, balancing the interests of plaintiffs against potential harm to property owners and lienholders. No new precedent beyond this clarification was established.

BERKLEY MULTI-UNITS, INC., ET AL., PETITIONERS, v. DENNIS G. LINDER, ET AL., RESPONDENTS.

HERSEY, Judge.

This case presents the recurring problem which confronts trial courts when application is made for dissolution of a notice of lis pendens.

The statute is rather straightforward and provides in the subsection material in these cases:

(3) When the initial pleading does not show that the action is founded on a duly recorded instrument, or on a mechanic's lien, the court may control and discharge the notice of lis pendens as the court may grant and dissolve injunctions.

§ 48.23(3), Fla. Stat. (1983). The concept which has created some difficulty for litigants and courts is "action . . . founded on a duly recorded instrument."

The purpose of a notice of lis pendens is to alert creditors, prospective purchasers and others to the fact that the title to a particular piece of real property is involved in litigation. In the case of a mortgage foreclosure the recorded mortgage is notice that if the mortgagor-property owner fails to make payments or otherwise defaults under the terms of the mortgage and underlying promissory note the mortgagee may bring an action to foreclose the mortgage. In such an action the mortgagee is the plaintiff and because his claim or interest is already a matter of public record by virtue of the recorded mortgage, when the foreclosure action is filed he is entitled as of right to file a notice of lis pendens. An action to foreclose a mortgage on real property is an action "founded on a duly recorded instrument."

In contrast, the recording of a conveyance such as a warranty deed serves as notice that the grantor has relinquished to the grantee all of his right, title and interest in the real property. The "recorded instrument" is notice of the grantee's ownership and therefore interest in the real property. It also serves as notice that the grantor no longer has any interest in the real property. If it is later claimed by the grantor that the grantee fraudulently or otherwise wrongfully obtained title and an action is brought to rescind the deed, the plaintiff is not entitled as of right to file a notice of lis pendens. The action is not founded on the deed but on circumstances preceding and surrounding the execution of the deed. A notice of lis pendens alerts to the possibility of rescission of the deed, a cloud on title not evident from inspection of the bare deed on the public records. Because of its potential to cloud title it is subject to scrutiny by the court for the protection of the title, the property owner, and existing lienholders, as well as the interests of the plaintiff. Thus, the statute requires that the court "control and discharge the notice of lis pendens as the court may grant and dissolve injunctions."

With few exceptions (one such exception emanating from this court), the cases have consistently so interpreted the statute. Feinstein v. Dolene, Inc., 455 So.2d 1126 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Mohican Valley, Inc. v. MacDonald, 443 So.2d 479 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Kent v. Kent, 431 So.2d 279 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Hough v. Bailey, 421 So.2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Glusman v. Warren, 413 So.2d 857 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).

Florida Peach Corp. of America v. Lurie, 411 So.2d 339 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982) (receded from in Mohican Valley), and Chapman v. L N Grove, Inc., 244 So.2d 154 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971), represent the contrary view, as does our own case of Boca Raton Land Development, Inc. v. Sparring, 397 So.2d 1053 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). To the extent that Sparling is inconsistent with the views expressed in this opinion we recede therefrom.

The present actions involving numerous parties evolved from a nine-count complaint seeking rescission and other relief based upon allegations of fraud and conspiracy. A notice of lis pendens was filed with the original complaint. A motion to dissolve the notice of lis pendens was denied, the trial court determining that the notice was maintainable as a matter of right on the authority of Sparling. The trial court did not have the benefit of our opinion in Feinstein, 455 So.2d at 1126, which was published subsequent to the hearing on the motion to dissolve the notice of lis pendens. We do not, obviously, fault the trial judge who correctly followed then-available precedent in consideration and disposition of the motion. The defendants then filed the petition for writ of certiorari which we here consider.

Maintenance of the notice of lis pendens as a matter of right and without consideration of the requirement of bond and other protections available in an injunction setting constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of the law for which no adequate remedy on plenary appeal is available. Accordingly, we quash the order under review and remand for reconsideration and compliance with section 48.23(3), Florida Statutes (1983).

CERTIORARI GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED; REMANDED.

ANSTEAD, C.J., and DOWNEY, GLICKSTEIN, HURLEY, DELL, WALDEN and BARKETT, JJ., concur.

LETTS, J., dissents without opinion.

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BERKLEY MULTI-UNITS, INC. v. LINDER
(Mar 20, 1985)