L.H. HOUGH, APPELLANT,
v.
STEVE STEWART, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1989-05-11
No. 88-2184
COWART and DANIEL, JJ., concur.
543 So. 2d 1279 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1989) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Holding

A notice of lis pendens, even if it expires before final judgment, remains effective against a purchaser who acquired an interest while the notice was in effect and validated by appeal.


Headnotes

[1] A notice of lis pendens remains effectual for purposes of notice to subsequent purchasers even if it expires prior to final judgment, provided it was in effect at the tim…

[2] The one-year duration of a notice of lis pendens is tolled during the pendency of an appeal.

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Facts & Procedural History

Hough filed an action concerning real property and a notice of lis pendens. The trial court struck the lis pendens, but an appellate court reversed an…

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Opinion of the Court
COBB, Judge.

COBB, Judge.

The issue before us on this appeal concerns the effect of a notice of lis pendens, validated by an interlocutory appellate procedure, which expires prior to final judgment in the trial court, but which was in effect at the time an interest was acquired from a defendant in the trial court.

In 1981, L.H. Hough initiated an action in Duval County against T.B.F. Properties, Inc. for specific performance, reformation, rescission, and injunctive relief pertaining to real property situated in St. Johns County. Hough alleged that his ex-wife, Louise T. Bailey, improperly deeded the property to T.B.F., a corporation she owned, in violation of a prior agreement that it was to be deeded to him. This action was filed on July 1, 1981, and a notice of lis pendens was filed in St. Johns County on July 7, 1981, pursuant to section 48.23, Florida Statutes (1981), which provided in pertinent part:

(2) No notice of lis pendens is effectual for any purpose beyond 1 year from the commencement of the action unless the relief sought is disclosed by the initial pleading to be founded on a duly recorded instrument, or on a mechanic’s lien claimed against the property involved except when the court extends the time on reasonable notice and for good cause. The court may impose such terms for the extension of time as justice requires.

(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.

(4) This section applies to all actions now or hereafter pending in any state or federal courts in this state, but the period of time above-mentioned does not include the period of pendency of any action in an appellate court.

Some nine months later, on April 28, 1982, the trial court entered an order striking the lis pendens for the reason that it was not based on prior court authorization as required by Kirk v. Baumann, 336 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). Hough’s appeal of that order, which was treated as a petition for writ of certiorari, resulted in a reversal of the trial court’s order. See Hough v. Bailey, 421 So. 2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), review denied, 441 So. 2d 614 (Fla.1983). The First District disagreed with Kirk and said: “Since the court below made no findings on appropriateness, instead dismissing in reliance on Kirk, we reverse the order and remand so that findings on the appropriateness of a continued lis pendens can be made.”

The opinion of the First District issued on November 9, 1982. Bailey, however, sought review by the Florida Supreme Court, which first accepted, then rejected jurisdiction.1 The supreme court’s dismissal of the petition for certiorari was dated November 23, 1983. Thereafter, on March 1, 1984, the Circuit Court of Duval County entered final judgment declaring that Hough was entitled to delivery of deeds to the property and, upon failure of such delivery, the judgment was to act as an automatic conveyance to Hough. No hearing in regard to the notice of lis pendens was held before the trial court between the supreme court’s dismissal in November and entry of final judgment the following March.

In the meantime, on October 21, 1982, while the matter was still pending before the First District, T.B.F. had conveyed the property to Steve Stewart, who claims to be a bona fide purchaser without notice.

Faced with Stewart’s claim, Hough then filed a quiet title action against him in St. Johns County on August 14,1985. Stewart successfully defended this action on the basis asserted in his appellate brief:

For the lis pendens to bind Stewart, the trial court in Hough v. Bailey, 421 So. 2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) would have had to make findings as to the appropriateness of continuing the lis pen-dens past February 2,1984, and enter an order extending the lis pendens. It did not do so.

The lis pendens did not expire until February 2, 1984 because the one-year life of the lis pendens was tolled during the pendency of the appeal from May 2, 1982 through November 23, 1983. § 48.23(4), Fla.Stat. (1981). Stewart claims Hough’s failure to obtain an extension of the lis pendens after February 2, 1984, to include the date of entry of the judgment by the Duval Circuit Court (March 1, 1984) precludes him from being bound by that judgment. According to Stewart he, as a “prospective purchaser,” was no longer “on constructive notice of the possibility of (adverse) judgment” in regard to the Duval litigation after expiration of the lis pendens on February 2, 1984.

Stewart’s argument, of course, overlooks the fact that he was not “a prospective purchaser” on February 2, 1984. His purchase occurred on October 21, 1982, at which time he was put on notice by the lis pendens, subsequently validated by appeal. See Crown Corporation v. Robinson, 128 Fla. 249, 174 So. 737 (1937). A notice of lis pendens is not rendered void ab initio simply because it expires prior to final judgment in the suit. See Cain & Bultman, Inc. v. Miss Sam, Inc., 409 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).

REVERSED.

COWART and DANIEL, JJ., concur. . The Second District receded from Kirk in Wiggins v. Dojcsan, 411 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982), eroding the basis for conflict jurisdiction and prompting the Supreme Court’s dismissal.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Haisfield v. ACP Fla. Holdings, Inc., 629 So. 2d 963 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
    …normally effective for a one year period beginning from the date of commencement of the action. See § 48.23(2), Fla.Stat. (1991). This period, however, does not include the time such action is pending on appeal. See § 48.23(4). In Hough v. Stewart, 543 So. 2d 1279, 1281 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), for example, the court explained that the one-year life of a lis pendens was tolled during pendency of appeal pursuant to § 48.-23(4) even though the appeal was from a non-final order striking the notice of lis pendens. In…
  • McINTOSH v. L.H. Hough, 601 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. 1992)
    …uently learned of this litigation and petitioned to intervene. Upon the objection of Hough, this petition was denied. During the course of the Duval County litigation, the. continuing validity of the lis pendens was challenged. In Hough v. Stewart, 543 So. 2d 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), the court held that the lis pendens was effective through February 2, 1984. On January 19, 1984, Hough recovered a judgment against Bailey in Duval County requiring reconveyance of the property. On March 1, 1984, still without…
    1 / 2
  • McINTOSH v. L.H. Hough, 579 So. 2d 179 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)
    …se of the Duval County litigation, the continuing validity of the lis pendens was challenged. This challenge is more fully described in Hough v. Bailey, 421 So. 2d 708 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), rev. denied, 441 So. 2d 614 (Fla.1983) and Hough v. Stewart, 543 So. 2d 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). In Stewart this court held the lis pendens was effective through February 2, 1984. We find that American Legion Com. Club v. Diamond, 561 So. 2d 268 (Fla.1990) does not affect this result. On January 19, 1984 Hough recovered ju…

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