VICTOR RONES, TRUSTEE, APPELLANT,
v.
CHARLISA, INC.; CITY OF HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA; BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA; STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; RAY QUALMANN MARINE CONSTRUCTION, INC.; AND RONALD E. TEMPKIN, APPELLEES
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In this foreclosure appeal, the court reversed in part a final judgment regarding the timing of default interest accrual and the omission of late charges. The court held that acceleration of the mortgage note occurred when the foreclosure complaint was filed, not at the date of default or an earlier ambiguous notice.
The court held that acceleration occurs when the creditor takes clear and unequivocal action indicating intent to accelerate, and in this case, the appropriate triggering date is the date the foreclosure complaint was filed. Default interest at 18% should be re-computed from the complaint filing date of November 12, 2008. The trial court must also include late charges to which Appellant was entitled under the note.
[1] A bankruptcy order confirming a plan may preserve appellate jurisdiction over a foreclosure action to the extent of a specified sum unrelated to the satisfaction of a cla…
[2] A claim for a specific interest rate is not preserved for appellate review if it was not preserved in the trial court.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“To constitute an acceleration after default, where the holder has the option to accelerate, the holder or payee of the note must take some clear and equivocal action indicating its intent to accelerate all payments under the .note, and such action should apprise the maker of the fact that the option to accelerate has been exercised.”
Establishes the legal standard for acceleration of a note with a non-self-executing acceleration clause
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant, as trustee, held a mortgage note against Charlisa, Inc. The borrower defaulted on the note, which included an acceleration clause and provi…
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STONE, J.
This is an appeal of a final judgment in foreclosure. A bankruptcy order, entered in a bankruptcy action instituted by Appel-lee, which confirmed a plan, anticipated our proceeding with this appeal. The bankruptcy order provided for a satisfaction of Appellant’s claim, but also directed that unsecured funds be set aside to cover up to $100,000 of any balance on Appellant’s claim. Therefore, this court retains jurisdiction up to that sum unrelated to the satisfaction.
We reverse the final judgment in part, as to the date that default interest (at the rate of 18%) accrued, and as to the omission of late charges. We do not consider Appellant’s claim for 25% interest, as this claim was not preserved in the trial court.
The acceleration clause in this note and mortgage was not self-executing. Therefore, notice of acceleration was required. See Parise v. Citizens Nat’l Bank, 438 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). Appellee, Charlisa, Inc., argues that it did not receive notice of default until the publication date of the notice in this action. The suit was filed more than two years after the default.
In Central Home Trust Co. of Elizabeth v. Lippincott, 392 So. 2d 931, 933 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980) (citation omitted), the court held that “[t]o constitute an acceleration after default, where the holder has the option to accelerate, the holder or payee of the note must take some clear and equivocal action indicating its intent to accelerate all payments under the .note, and such action should apprise the maker of the fact that the option to accelerate has been exercised.” “Examples of acceleration are a creditor’s sending written notice to the debtor, making an oral demand, and alleging acceleration in a pleading filed in a suit on the debt.” Id.See also Seligman v. Bisz, 123 Fla. 493, 167 So. 38 (1936) (finding where acceleration is at the option of the mortgagee, the “institution of a suit for foreclosure is the exercise of the option to declare the whole of the principal sum and interest secured by the mortgage to be due and payable”); Jaudon v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of United States, 102 Fla. 782, 136 So. 517 (1931) (“mere filing of suit to enforce the mortgage by foreclosure may sufficiently show [an] election to exercise [an] option to accelerate”); Parise, 438 So. 2d at 1022 (internal citations omitted) (“Acceleration may be set in motion by filing a pleading in a suit on the full indebtedness.... Or it may be activated by a demand and express notice to the debtor”).
In this case, the triggering date should not be the date of the default, as Appellant took no action to accelerate at that point. We also reject Appellant’s argument that the date of an earlier failed notice should apply, as that writing was ambiguous and there was no clear language of acceleration.
We conclude that the appropriate triggering date is the date the complaint, wherein Appellant clearly elected to accelerate, was filed. On remand, the accelerated interest at the rate of 18% should be re-computed from the date of November 12, 2008.
Further, in the final judgment, although a space is provided for interest and late charges, the court failed to include a sum for late charges. Because under the note Appellant was entitled to late charges, upon remand, the trial court should modify the judgment to provide for same.
As to all other issues raised, we find no reversible error or abuse of discretion. Therefore, the judgment is reversed and remanded for modification in accordance with this opinion.
TAYLOR, J., and COLBATH, JEFFREY, Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Snow v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 156 So. 3d 538 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)…ampbell v. Werner, 232 So. 2d 252, 254 n. 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970) (noting that the filing of a suit for foreclosure amounted to the exercise of the option to accelerate and operated as notice to the mortgagor of such election); Rones v. Charlisa, Inc., 948 So. 2d 878, 879 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (quoting Central Home Trust Co. of Elizabeth v. Lippincott, 392 So. 2d 931, 933 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)) (holding acceleration option was exercised by filing of foreclosure complaint and noting that “to constitute an acceleratio…
Authorities Cited
- Jaudon v. Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y of the United States, 102 Fla. 782 (Fla. 1931)
- Cent. Home Tr. Co. OF Elizabeth v. Lippincott, 392 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)
- Seligman v. Bisz, 123 Fla. 493 (Fla. 1936)
- Parise v. Citizens Nat'l Bank & Arthur H. Garrecht, 438 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)