No Winner, No Fees: Trial Court Finds No Prevailing Party — and the Third DCA affirms
In Kenmort Properties v. Emergency Services, Inc. (3d DCA), the trial court exercised its broad discretion to declare there was no prevailing party, and, therefore, no entitlement to attorneys' fees. Both sides had failed to achieve their core objectives, and yet both had moved for fees. The court called it a draw.
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Say It, Don’t Imply It: Trial Courts Must Explain Their Summary Judgment Rulings
In Open Range Properties v. AmeriHome Mortgage Co., the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed a final summary judgment of foreclosure because the trial court failed to comply with the 2021 revision to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(a).
Under the amended rule — modeled after the federal standard...
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No Ouster, No Rent: Why Co-Tenants Living Rent-Free Is Still the Rule in Florida
In a short but telling appellate decision, a Florida court reversed a trial court’s award of over $100,000 in back rent in a partition case between siblings, reaffirming a principle that’s been settled law since at least 1988: a co-tenant in possession of jointly owned property does not owe rent to the...
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Life Estate Meets Trust Conflict: Widow’s Attempted Sale Triggers Breach and Forfeiture
In Varano v. Varano, a Florida appellate court confronted a probate and real estate conflict packed with issues of authority and fiduciary missteps: a widow holding a life estate in property attempted to sell it —even though the remainder interest was held in trust, and the deed was not a Lady...
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