PHILLIPS
v.
PRITCHETT TRUCKING
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The court granted a petition for writ of mandamus compelling the Clerk of Court for Hillsborough County to record a claim of lien with a February 19, 2025 recordation date, rather than the actual recording date of February 25, 2025. The court held that delivery of the lien and payment to the clerk satisfied the statutory requirement of 'presentation for recording' under Florida law, making the clerk's duty to record ministerial and arising immediately upon delivery.
The clerk's duty to record claims of lien is ministerial and arises upon delivery of both the lien and payment, regardless of when actual processing occurs. Section 28.222(3) requires only that a claim of lien be 'presented to him or her for recording, upon payment of the service charges,' and delivery of both documents on February 19, 2025 satisfied this requirement. The clerk must record the lien to reflect the February 19, 2025 recordation date.
[1] A clerk of court's duty to record documents presented for recording upon payment of service charges is ministerial and does not permit the exercise of discretion.
[2] A claim of lien is considered "presented for recording" when it is delivered to the clerk of court along with payment of the required service charges.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The Clerk of Court's statutory duty to record documents is ministerial one and does not require or permit the exercise of discretion by the Clerk of Courts.”
Establishes that the clerk has no discretion in recording liens; the duty is purely ministerial
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner delivered a Claim of Lien and payment by check to the Clerk of Courts on February 19, 2025, both sent in the same mail package. However, th…
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VICTOR D. CRIST in his official capacity as CLERK OF COURT FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Respondent. --------------~'
ORDER GRANTING WRIT OF MANDAMUS
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Petitioner's October 16, 2025, Petition for Writ of Mandamus (Doc. #4) seeking the writ to compel Respondent Victor D. Crist in his official capacity as Clerk of Court for Hillsborough County "to record anew [Petitioner's] Lien to reflect recordation as of February 19, 2025, the date the Lien was presented to the Clerk of Courts with payment of the service charge" in compliance with sections 28.222(3) and 695.12. The Court has reviewed the petition (Doc. #4), response (Doc. #8), reply (Doc. #10), applicable law and being otherwise duly advised, finds as follows: Petitioner delivered a Claim of Lien to the Clerk of Courts on February 19, 2025. Petitioner's payment by check to the Clerk of Courts for the service charge to record the Claim of Lien was also delivered with the aforementioned lien to the Clerk of Courts in the same mail package on February 19, 2025. The Clerk of Court did not record the Claim of Lien though until six (6) days later on February 25, 2025. Although Respondent has argued that "mere delivery to the mail processing facility is not sufficient to trigger the Clerk's duty to record under Section 28.222", Section 28.222(3), Florida Statutes simply states that the clerk of the circuit court shall record claims of lien "presented to him or her for recording, upon payment of the service 02/03/2026 04:29:24 Page1 [*2] charges prescribed by law .... " Per the statute's plain language all that is required is 1) presentation for recording and 2) upon payment, the Clerk shall record claims of lien. The Clerk of Court's statutory duty to record documents is ministerial one and does not require or permit the exercise of discretion by the Clerk of Courts. As Petitioner's claim of lien and payment was delivered on February 19, 2025, the Court finds that this delivery satisfied the presentation for recording and payment that the statute requires and the duty to record arose then. See generally, Phillips v. Pritchett Trucking, Inc., 328 So. 3d 380, 382 (Fla. pt DCA 2021). Accordingly, the Court finds that the Clerk of Court must record anew Petitioner's Lien to reflect recordation as of February 19, 2025, pursuant to 28.222(3) and 695.12. It is therefore ORDERED that Respondent record Petitioner's Lien answer to reflect the recordation date as February 19, 2025, within five (5) days. The Court also DENIES Petitioner's Motion for Emergency Hearing on Petition for Writ of Mandamus as MOOT. ORDERED in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, on the date imprinted with the 25-C .10352 "d.H!rlr\:1-i:~· :23 PM Judge's signature. 25-CA-010352 2/3/2026 4:29:23 Page2
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- The Honorable Jody Phillips v. Pritchett Trucking, Inc., 328 So. 3d 380 (Fla. 1st DCA 2021)