GRAND CENTRAL AT KENNEDY CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
SPACE COAST CREDIT UNION, AS SERVICER FOR FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF ATLANTA; AND ROBERT E. HAYDEN, APPELLEES
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The trial court lacked jurisdiction to determine the amount of unpaid condominium assessments after a final judgment of foreclosure when jurisdiction was not specifically reserved for that purpose.
[1] A trial court loses jurisdiction of a foreclosure case after the entry of a final judgment and the expiration of the time to alter, modify, or vacate the judgment, unless…
[2] A general reservation of jurisdiction in a final judgment of foreclosure does not grant the court authority to determine the amount of unpaid assessments pursuant to sect…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSpace Coast Credit Union foreclosed on a condominium unit and purchased it. Grand Central Condominium Association assessed past due fees against Space…
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Grand Central at Kennedy Condominium Association, Inc., challenges the trial court’s Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion to Enforce the Final Judgment or to Amend Certificate of Title in a foreclosure action brought by Space Coast Credit Union. Because the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order, we reverse. We therefore need not address the issue of whether Space Coast was entitled to the statutory limitation on liability set forth in section 718.116(l)(b), Florida Statutes (2013).
The final judgment of foreclosure was entered in favor of Space Coast in its foreclosure action against Robert Hayden after he failed to pay his mortgage on his condominium unit.1 After entry of the final judgment, Space Coast purchased the condominium unit and Grand Central assessed past due condominium fees and related charges against Space Coast.
One year after the entry of the final judgment, Space Coast filed a motion to enforce final judgment or alternatively to amend certificate of title, seeking a determination of the amount of unpaid condominium assessments due to Grand Central. Specifically, Space Coast sought a ruling that it was entitled to the safe harbor provision of section 718.116(l)(b), which limits the liability of the “first mortgagee or its successor or assignees who acquire title to a unit by foreclosure” to “the lesser of ... [t]he unit’s unpaid common expenses and regular periodic assessments which accrued or came due during the 12 months immediately preceding the acquisition of title ... or ... [o]ne percent of the original mortgage debt.”
In its response to Space Coast’s motion, Grand Central argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the final order contained only a general reservation of jurisdiction. The trial court disagreed and granted Space Coast’s motion, limiting Space Coast’s liability pursuant to section 718.116(l)(b). This was error.
The trial court lacked jurisdiction because entitlement to assessments was neither litigated nor adjudicated and the trial *1091court did not specifically reserve jurisdiction to determine the amount of assessments due pursuant to section 718.116(l)(b). See Cent. Mortg. Co. v. Callahan, 155 So.3d 373, 375-76 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014). In Callahan, the Third District addressed this issue, framing it as “whether a trial court’s inherent jurisdiction to enforce its judgment includes the authority to determine statutory assessments where the time to alter, modify, or vacate the judgment has elapsed and the judgment provides for only a general reservation of jurisdiction.” Id. at 375. The Callahan court concluded that
“[i]n a foreclosure case, after entry of a final judgment and expiration of time to file a motion for rehearing or for a new trial, the trial court loses jurisdiction of the case ... unless jurisdiction was reserved to address that matter or the issue is allowed to be considered [post-judgment] by statute or under a provision of the Florida Rules of Civil procedure.”
Id. (quoting Ross v. Damas, 31 So.3d 201, 203 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)); see also Cent. Park A Metrowest Condo. Ass’n v. Am-Trust REO I, LLC, 169 So.3d 1223, 1226, (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (“Generally, a trial court loses jurisdiction upon the rendition of a final judgment and expiration of the time allotted for altering, modifying or vacating the judgment. The court retains jurisdiction to the extent such is specifically reserved in the final judgment or to the extent provided by statute or rule of procedure.” (citation omitted) (quoting Ross v. Wells Fargo Bank, 114 So.3d 256, 257 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013))). The Third District also noted that when Central Mortgage “filed its [postjudgment] motion, there was nothing for the trial court to enforce” because “entitlement to assessments was neither litigated nor adjudicated” and all the final judgment did was establish the priority of liens. Id.
Finally, in Callahan, the Third District specifically concluded that the general reservation of jurisdiction in that case “did not specifically reserve jurisdiction to determine the amount of assessments due pursuant to section [] 718.116.... It merely retained jurisdiction to enforce— via writs of possession and deficiency judgments — the final judgment entered in the matter.” Id. at 376.
The instant case is factually similar to Callahan. Here, the final judgment of foreclosure does not address the assessment issue but instead merely sets the lien priority by stating that “[t]he lien of the plaintiff is superior in dignity to any right, title, interest or claim of the defendants and all persons, corporations, or other entities claiming by, through, or under the defendants.” And it contains only a general reservation of jurisdiction that is nearly identical to the one in Callahan. 2 Once the final judgment of foreclosure was entered and the foreclosure sale took place, there was nothing left for the trial court to enforce.
Applying the reasoning of Callahan, we conclude that the trial court here did not have jurisdiction to address the assessment issue. See also Montreux at Deerwood Lake Condo. Ass’n v. Citibank, N.A., 153 So.3d 961, 962 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014) (“While Citibank’s motion claimed to seek enforcement of the final judgment, the judgment did not actually pass upon the *1092amount of unpaid assessments. The assessments issue was neither part of the foreclosure litigation, nor reserved upon by the final judgment for later determination by the court. For this reason, no assessment-related judgment existed to be enforced in this case.... [T]he trial court lacked jurisdiction to determine the issue.”).
Accordingly, we reverse the order on appeal and remand with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction the motion to enforce the final judgment.
Reversed and remanded.
WALLACE and BLACK, JJ„ Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Aluia v. Dyck-O'Neal, Inc., 205 So. 3d 768 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…ce or satisfy the final judgment of foreclosure, which encompassed both a remedy at law and the equitable remedy of mortgage foreclosure, directing the sale of real property. See Grand Cent, at Kennedy Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Space Coast Credit Union, 173 So. 3d 1089, 1091 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (agreeing with the Third District’s conclusion that the language in a final judgment of foreclosure “retained jurisdiction to enforce — via writs of possession and deficiency judgments — the final judgment entered in the mat…
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Plca Condo. Ass'n v. Amtrust-Np SFR Venture, LLC, 182 So. 3d 668 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)…eux at Deerwood Lake Condo. Ass’n v. Citibank, N.A., 153 So. 3d 961 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); Cent. Park A Metrowest Condo. Ass’n v. AmTrust REO I, LLC, 169 So. 3d 1223 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015); Grand Cent. at Kennedy Condo. Ass’n v. Space Coast Credit Union, 173 So. 3d 1089 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015). We agree with the reasoning of these cases and find that the trial court lacked continuing jurisdiction to rule on the post-judgment motion. Accordingly, we reverse the order granting the motion to determine amounts due and reman…
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Bank OF Am. v. The Enclave AT Richmond Place Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 173 So. 3d 1095 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)…eal the trial court’s order; as such, the jurisdictional issue is not before us. See Ocean Bank v. Caribbean Towers Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 121 So. 3d 1087, 1089-90 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013); cf. Grand Cent. at Kennedy Condo. Ass’n v. Space Coast Credit Union, 173 So. 3d 1089, 2015 WL 4923677 (Fla. 2d DCA August 19, 2015).…
Authorities Cited
- Alec Ross v. Wells Fargo Bank, 114 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)
- Cent. Mortg. Co. v. Callahan, 155 So. 3d 373 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)
- Alec Ross v. Damas, 31 So. 3d 201 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)
- Cent. Park A Metrowest Condo. Assoc., Inc. v. Amtrust REO I, LLC, 169 So. 3d 1223 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)
- Montreux at Deerwood Lake Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Citibank, N.A., 153 So. 3d 961 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)
- Johnson v. State, 31 So. 3d 201 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)