ANTHONY L. TORTU, PETITIONER,
v.
MARIE TORTU, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A former wife filed a notice of lis pendens on her former husband's Florida property to enforce a New Jersey money judgment. The court held that a lis pendens cannot be used to encumber property in a complaint seeking only to reduce a foreign judgment to a Florida judgment, as such a complaint does not allege a direct claim against the specific property.
A notice of lis pendens cannot be maintained on property when the underlying complaint does not allege a direct, cognizable claim against that specific property. A complaint seeking to reduce a foreign judgment to a Florida judgment does not support a lis pendens because it involves only a money judgment award, not a direct claim against the property itself.
[1] A petition for writ of certiorari is the appropriate procedural vehicle to review an order denying a motion to discharge a notice of lis pendens.
[2] A complaint seeking to enroll a foreign money judgment does not, by itself, support a claim against specific real property sufficient to justify a notice of lis pendens.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[a] complaint which will not support a claim against the specific property at issue cannot provide a basis for tying it up by a filing of notice of lis pendens.”
Establishes the fundamental requirement that a lis pendens must be based on a complaint alleging a direct claim against the specific property at issue
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe respondent (former wife) obtained a New Jersey money judgment against the petitioner (former husband) for $41,391.78. She then filed a Florida com…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Enforcement Of Foreign Judgment cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
By petition for writ of certiorari we are asked to review an order which denied a motion to discharge a notice of lis pendens. We grant the petition and quash the order. Respondent, former-wife, obtained a New Jersey money judgment against the petitioner, former-husband, in the sum of $41,-391.78. Thereafter, she filed a complaint to reduce the New Jersey judgment to a Florida judgment. At the same time, she filed a notice of lis pendens indicating an intent to impose a lien on her former-husband’s property in Broward County. The trial court denied a motion to discharge the notice of lis pendens and thus the instant petition.
At the outset, we note that a petition for writ of certiorari is the appropriate procedural vehicle to test the denial of a motion to discharge a notice of lis pendens. See Cooper Village, Inc. v. Moretti, 383 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Hallmark Manufacturing, Inc. v. Lujack Construction Co., 372 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); see also Cacaro v. Swan, 394 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 4th DCA), petition for review dismissed, 402 So. 2d 608 (Fla.1981). Turning to the merits, it is axiomatic that “[a] complaint which will not support a claim against the specific property at issue cannot provide a basis for tying it up by a filing of notice of lis pendens.” Lake Placid Holding Co. v. Paparone, 414 So. 2d 564, 566 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982) (citing Judge Grimes’ dissenting opinion in Wiggins v. Dojcsan, 411 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)). The complaint in the case before us seeks to enroll a foreign judgment which, in turn, awards money damages. It does not allege a direct claim — cognizable under the law — against or upon the former-husband’s property which is burdened by the lis pen-dens. Consequently, the trial court erred in failing to discharge the notice of lis pen-dens. See DePass v. Chitty, 90 Fla. 77, 105 So. 148 (1925); Sunrise Point, Inc. v. Foss, 373 So. 2d 438 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 374 So. 2d 99 (Fla.1979).
Accordingly, the order under review which constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law, is quashed and the cause is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Certiorari granted.
GLICKSTEIN, HURLEY and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Centerstate Bank Cent. Fla., N.A. v. Krause, 87 So. 3d 25 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012)…4 So. 3d at 1251-52; Avalon Assocs. of Del. Ltd. v. Avalon Park Assocs., Inc., 760 So. 2d 1132, 1134 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Standing to record a lis pendens only requires a complaint that supports a claim against the specific property. Tortu v. Tortu, 430 So. 2d 531, 532 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). On the other hand, standing to contest the validity of a mortgage belongs to the mortgagor and to third persons whose rights or interests are adversely affected by the mortgage, such as junior mortgagees or creditors with a…
-
Hamid A. Baghaffar v. Story, 515 So. 2d 1373 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…583 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). . When a complaint does not support a direct claim against property which is burdened by a lis pendens, it should be discharged. See Power-line Development Corp. v. Assor, 458 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); Tortu v. Tortu, 430 So. 2d 531 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Lake Placid Holding Co. v. Paparone, 414 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). See also Beefy King International, Inc. v. Veigle, 464 F. 2d 1102 (5th Cir.1972) (assuming the solvency of the party against whom the lis pendens is filed,…
-
SCG Travel, Inc. v. Westminster Fin. Corp., 583 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…onsider whether we have jurisdiction to review the kind of orders involved here. The parties disagree whether certiorari is proper. Of course it is a proper vehicle to review a denial of a motion to discharge a notice of lis pendens. Tortu v. Tortu, 430 So. 2d 531 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). And, we note, a judgment creditor could certainly get expedited review — by a simple motion — of a denial of a bond after the judgment debtor appealed the judgment to a Florida appellate court. Rule 9.310(f), Florida Rules of Ap…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- DePass v. Chitty, 90 Fla. 77 (Fla. 1925)
- Cacaro v. Swan, 394 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Levitt v. Vermuccio, 373 So. 2d 438 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Cooper Vill., Inc. v. Moretti, 383 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)
- Lake Placid Holding Co. v. Elissa Landi Paparone, 414 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)
- Wood v. Winters Gov't Sec. Corp., 372 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)
- Deis v. Deis, 411 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)