ISAAC MIZRAHI AND RALPH MIZRAHI, APPELLANTS,
v.
VALDES-FAULI, COBB & PETREY, P.A., AND RODERICK N. PETREY, APPELLEES
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PER CURIAM.
Plaintiffs, Isaac Mizrahi and Ralph Mizr-ahi, appeal a summary final judgment holding their suit against the defendants, Valdes-Fauli, Cobb & Petri, P.A., and Roderick N. Petrey, time barred under the two-year statute of limitations for professional malpractice. For the following reasons, we reverse.
Defendants represented Genway Corp. as its attorney in the sale of land by Genway to plaintiffs, and also acted as the escrow agent in the transaction. Plaintiffs filed an action against the defendants for fraud and breach of their fiduciary duty as escrow agent. The trial court improperly found the action barred under Florida Statutes Section 95.11(4). The vocation of escrow agent does not qualify as a profession under the statute because a four-year college degree is not required for an escrow agent. See Garden v. Frier, 602 So. 2d 1273 (Fla.1992). Regardless of the benefits defendants derived from their knowledge of the law in the fulfillment of their duties as escrow agent, they were not acting as plaintiffs’ attorneys. Therefore, the four-year statute of limitations, rather than the two-year professional malpractice limit, applies to this action.
Reversed and remanded.
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Palafrugell Holdings, Inc. v. Marwin S. Cassel, 825 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…laintiff is unable to establish that there existed an attorney-client relationship, there is the possibility that some other form of fiduciary relationship existed, for example, that of escrow agent. See Mizrahi v. Valdes-Fauli, Cobb & Petrey, P.A., 671 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Florida Bar v. Joy, 679 So. 2d 1165 (Fla.1996) (holding that an attorney who accepts funds on behalf of two parties, only one of whom was his client, has a duty toward both parties).…
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City OF Safety Harbor v. Commc'ns Workers OF Am. & Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 715 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)…there is any alternative method of admission that omits a required four-year undergraduate degree or a graduate degree.” Garden v. Frier, 602 So. 2d 1273, 1276 (Fla.1992) (emphasis in original). See also Mizrahi v. Valdes-Fauli, Cobb & Petrey, P.A., 671 So. 2d 805, 806 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).…
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Gautreaux v. Greenman, 719 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…ly correct and quite irrelevant. His alleged obligations in this ease arise solely from his status as an escrow agent or stakeholder, as to which the fact that he happens to be an attorney is of no moment. See Mizrahi v. Valdes-Fauli, Cobb & Petrey, 671 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). For these reasons, the order denying the motion to file a third party complaint against Greenman is reversed and the cause is remanded for further appropriate proceedings. Reversed.…
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- Garden v. Frier, 602 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 1992)