M. M. WEISS, SR., APPELLANT,
v.
LEON A. STONE, APPELLEE
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A judgment creditor sought to levy on property purchased by a judgment debtor after a judgment lien attached, claiming it was entitled to homestead exemption. The court held that only the unit actually occupied by the debtor qualifies for homestead exemption, not the income-producing rental units on the same property, because the debtor failed to establish that the purchase funds originated from a prior homestead sale.
Only the apartment unit actually occupied by Weiss, plus a right of ingress and egress, is entitled to homestead exemption. The remainder of the property, being income-producing rather than purely residential, is subject to execution sale. The court could not apply the rule from Orange Brevard Plumbing allowing exempt reinvestment of homestead sale proceeds because the source and origin of the purchase funds were not adequately established.
“The test for removing the homestead exemption in such cases now seems to be whether the lower court, after hearing testimony and examining evidence, can find that the property under examination amounted to more than the 'residence and business house of the owner', protected by Fla. Const. Art. X, § 1.”
Establishes the test for determining homestead exemption eligibility for mixed-use property.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWeiss was judgment debtor in an October 1966 judgment for $48,000. In December 1966, after the judgment was recorded, Weiss purchased a property consi…
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The defendant below has appealed from an order of the circuit court which made a determination as to whether certain property owned by the defendant was subject to the homestead exemption. The plaintiff ift that action had secured a judgment against the defendant for $48,000.00 in October, 1966. The judgment was duly *404recorded in the Broward County Public Records on October 24, 1966. Shortly thereafter, in December of 1966 the property in question was purchased, apparently with a check for the $9,000.00 down payment given by the defendant’s son to the seller,1 and the balance secured by a first mortgage of which the defendant personally is the principal mortgagor. The property consists of three contiguous lots of land and a one-story five unit apartment building, the defendant occupying one of the units while the remaining four are rented to tenants. The instant proceedings arose when the judgment creditor, appel-lee, sought to levy on this property in order to subject it to a judicial sale to satisfy the judgment. The appellant responded by delivering a Homestead and Exemption Notice, pursuant to § 222.02 Fla.Stat. F.S.A., to the sheriff, the effect of which was to halt sale and bring the matter before the trial court. The order 2 being appealed followed.
*405The judgment creditor offers several theories which would demonstrate that the trial court’s order correctly determined that all the property except that which is actually occupied by the appellant is not subject to the homestead exemption; furthermore, the- appellee also contends that even the occupied premises are excluded from the homestead exemption. Initially, it should be noted that the trial court’s finding that the appellant was a head of household is not at issue here. Therefore, our holding is controlled by the nature of the property rather than the person.
Appellant has replied to the above argument by citing us to Orange Brevard Plumbing & Heating Company v. La Croix, Fla.1962, 137 So.2d 201. This case is authority for the rule which allows monies derived from the judgment debtor’s sale of his homestead (such sale having taken place after the recordation of the judgment) to remain exempt from attachment provided those monies are reinvested by the judgment debtor in another homestead within a reasonable time. The above rule was propounded in order to protect those homestead'rights enjoyed by the judgment debtor on property he owned before the judgment lien attached. The mere fact that the property was changed by sale into the form of cash does not militate against those rights if the cash is to be reformed once again into a bona fide homestead. In the Orange Brevard Plumbing case, the assets used to purchase a new homestead were conclusively traced and shown to originate from the sale of the first homestead; however, the record on appeal of the case before us is devoid of evidence which would justify our applying the Orange Brevard Plumbing holding here. The testimony here goes to show that the property was in fact purchased by the appellant’s son with funds of an unspecified origin, supra, note 1. Without being shown sufficient evidence as to the origin of the assets used in a post-judgment purchase of property claimed as homestead, we cannot apply the rule of Orange Brevard Plumbing.
Therefore, our next inquiry is whether the lower court properly ruled in its determination of what constituted homestead property. Citing the case of Smith v. Guckenheimer, 42 Fla. 1, 27 So. 900, and Lockhart v. Sasser, 156 Fla. 339, 22 So.2d 763, the court below determined that only the premises which the appellant actually occupied, plus an easement for ingress and egress, was to be granted the homestead exemption. The order further set out provisions outlining the obligations of the appellant as to the existing first mortgage and other costs on the property. Determination of homestead character is the subject of some conflict in Florida, and the varied cases in this area which have required judicial resolution have as a common denominator property which was partially residential and the rest income-producing in some manner. The test for removing the homestead exemption in such cases now seems to be whether the lower court, after hearing testimony and examining evidence, can find that the property under examination amounted to more than the “residence and business house of the owner”, protected by Fla. Const. Art. X, § 1. What constitutes this “residence and business house” is, however, *406not defined in the Constitution, and this phrase has been held to be a flexible one which should be reasonably construed to effectuate its purpose, depending on the trade, craft or occupation pursued by the judgment debtor to make a living. See generally, Cowdery v. Herring, 106 Fla. 567, 143 So. 433, 144 So. 348; Union Trust Co. v. Glunt, Fla.1956, 85 So.2d 877. See also 16 Fla.Jur. Homesteads §§ 35, 36; Annot. 114 A.L.R. 209 (1938).
Although the majority of cases which apply the above premise have favored finding the homestead exemption to be applicable to the various improvements on the property in question, such finding nevertheless becomes a factual one. Therefore, as an appellate court, we are required to review the evidence contained in the record on appeal in a light most favorable to the appellee, and afford the same consideration to all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, as the final order and judgment arrives in this court with a presumption of correctness. E. g., Miami National Bank v. Fink, Fla. App.1965, 174 So.2d 38 and cases cited therein. Neither the order being appealed nor the record on appeal discloses error as to the court’s determination of this aspect of the appellant’s property and his business. The court was exceptionally familiar with the appellant’s business and livelihood, as it had taken and retained jurisdiction over the case since the first dispute between the parties arose and resulted in the initial judgment being enforced here. Such an intimacy with the facts is the very basis for the presumption of the lower court’s correctness and is the main reason an appellate court is hesitant to reverse. Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, the order of the lower court is hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
(dissenting).
With great respect for the views of my brothers, I find myself unable to approve the judgment in question. I can find no justification in the record for an adjudication that appellant is entitled to homestead exemption only “on that apartment unit which he actually occupies, together with a right of ingress and egress to a public street. The balance of the property is subject to execution sale.”
Hence, I dissent.
WHITE, JOSEPH S., Associate Judge
(dissenting).
With great respect for the views of my brothers, I find myself unable to approve the judgment in question. I can find no justification in the record for an adjudication that appellant is entitled to homestead exemption only “on that apartment unit which he actually occupies, together with a right of ingress and egress to a public street. The balance of the property is subject to execution sale.”
Hence, I dissent.
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Dade Cnty. v. Oolite Rock Co., 311 So. 2d 699 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)…he trial court reaches the District Court of Appeal it comes before us clothed with a presumption of correctness. See, e.g., Johnson v. Roberts, Fla.1955, 79 So. 2d 425; Cohen v. Mohawk, Inc., Fla.1962, 137 So. 2d 222; Weiss v. Stone, Fla.App. 1969, 220 So. 2d 403; Benedict v. Dade County Realty, Inc., Fla.App.1973, 274 So. 2d 553. Appellate judges are not seers, free to engage in the luxury of substituting our “better judgment” for that of the trial court sitting as the trier of fact. See, Colvin v. State o…
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Frase v. Branch, 362 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)…sist of up to 160 contiguous acres of qualified rural land. In Florida, as well as in many other states, property in excess of the homestead, though part of the same tract, may be made subject to the obligations of the landowner. See Weiss v. Stone, 220 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969); Barco v. Fennell, 24 Fla. 378, 5 So. 9 (1888); 1 American Law of Property § 5.82 (A. J. Casner ed. 1952); 40 C.J.S. Homesteads §§ 43, 146 (1944); 40 Am.Jur. Homestead § 40 (1968); Annot. 45 A.L.R. 395, 413 (1926). In the case at…
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SUN First Nat'l Bank OF Orlando v. Gieger, 402 So. 2d 428 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)…ard: In Olsen, there was no mention that the husband intended to reinvest his proceeds into another homestead. Additionally, Orange Brevard is subsequent to Olsen and, to the extent of any conflict, overrules it. Sun Bank also cites Weiss v. Stone, 220 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969), a case in which the court refused to apply Orange Brevard because there was no evidence to show that the money used to buy the second property originated from the sale of the first homestead. Weiss could actually be construed to…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Orange Brevard Plumbing & Heating Co. v. LA Croix, 137 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 1962)
- Florence v. Cowdery, 106 Fla. 567 (Fla. 1932)
- Smith v. Guckenheimer & Sons, 42 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1900)
- Miami Nat'l Bank v. Fink, 174 So. 2d 38 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965)
- Olie Lockhart v. Zera Sasser, 156 Fla. 339 (Fla. 1945)
- Union Tr. Co. v. Glunt, 85 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 1956)