AMERICAN FIRE & CASUALTY CO., PETITIONER,
v.
DAVIS WATER & WASTE INDUSTRIES, INC., ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENTS
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American Fire & Casualty Co. sought review of a district court decision holding that a lienor furnishing materials for subdivision improvements under Florida Statutes § 713.04 is not required to serve notice on the property owner, and that the surety bond is liable despite late joinder of the surety as a defendant. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, establishing that subdivision improvement liens operate under a distinct statutory regime with no notice requirement.
The Court held that no notice to the owner is required for subdivision improvement liens under § 713.04, which establishes a separate class of liens with no notice requirement. The Court also held that the surety is liable because the suit to enforce the lien was timely filed within one year of the lien's recording, and the delay in joining the surety did not violate the statute or prejudice the surety.
[1] A lienor furnishing materials for subdivision improvements under section 713.04, Florida Statutes, who is not in privity with the owner, is not required to serve notice o…
[2] A surety bond substituted for land as security for a lien claim does not alter the timeliness requirements for enforcing the lien against the surety.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 713.04, dealing with subdivision improvements, establishes a class of liens separate from the others provided for in chapter 713, part I. There is no requirement of serving notice on the owner under section 713.04.”
Establishes the core holding that subdivision improvement liens operate under a distinct statutory regime without notice requirements.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDavis Water & Waste Industries supplied materials for an underground utility system installed by a subcontractor on a subdivision construction project…
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BOYD, Justice.
This cause is before the Court on petition for certiorari supported by certification of the district court of appeal that its decision passed upon a question of great public interest. American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Davis Water & Waste Industries, 358 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const. Defendant Roy J. Meadows, Inc., as general contractor for the construction of certain subdivision improvements, entered into an agreement with Mattingly & Sons, Inc., as subcontractor, for the furnishing and installation of an underground utility system for water distribution and sewage collection. Mattingly & Sons purchased materials for the construction of the water and sewer system from plaintiff Davis Water and Waste Industries, Inc. These materials were incorporated into the project. Davis Water and Waste recorded an amended claim of lien on November 7, 1973, and on November 20, 1973, brought this action against the owners of the land to foreclose the lien.
[*CCXLV] On February 5,1974, the defendants substituted a surety bond for the land as security for the claim pursuant to section 713.24, Florida Statutes (1973). More than two years later, the surety American Fire & Casualty Company was joined as a defendant.
The surety defended on the grounds that the plaintiff had failed to effect a legally sufficient notice to the owner and that the claim as against the surety was untimely due to untimely joinder. The trial court held that the materials supplied were used for “subdivision improvements” as that term is defined in section 713.04, Florida Statutes (1973),1 and that therefore no notice to the owner was required. The court also held the surety liable for the claim.
On appeal, the petitioner reiterated its arguments. It argued that the trial court erred in holding a valid lien had been perfected, since the claimant failed to serve a legally sufficient notice to the owner. Secondly, the petitioner argued that it should not be held liable on its bond because its joinder as defendant was not timely under section 713.22(1), Florida Statutes (1973).2
The district court held that a lienor, not in privity with the owner, who furnishes materials for subdivision improvements under section 713.04, is not required to serve a notice on the owner. On the timeliness issue the court held that since the suit to enforce the lien was filed within one year of the recording of the claim of lien as required by section 713.22, the surety could not defend on the ground that it was not joined as a defendant until two and one-half years after the recording of the claim of lien and more than two years after the transfer of the lien to bond.
The district court’s decision on the notice issue is in conflict with Booth v. Joe Lombardi, Inc., 309 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975), and has been followed in Baumgartner Construction Co. v. Harrell, 364 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). The court certified that its decision on the notice issue passed on a question of great public interest, and framed the question as follows:
Is a lienor, not in privity with the owner, who furnishes materials for subdivision improvements under § 713.04 of the Florida Statutes (1975) required to serve a notice on the owner as directed by § 713.06(2) of the Florida Statutes (1975)?
We affirm the district court and adopt its reasoning on both issues. Section 713.04, dealing with subdivision improvements, establishes a class of liens separate from the others provided for in chapter 713, part I. There is no requirement of serving notice on the owner under section 713.04. The suit to enforce the lien was timely filed and the delay in joining the surety did not violate the statute or prejudice the surety in any way.
The certified question is answered in the negative. The decision of the district court is approved.
It is so ordered.
[*CCXLVI] ENGLAND, C. J., and ADKINS, OVER-TON, SUNDBERG and ALDERMAN, JJ., concur. . Section 713.04 contains no requirement of a notice to the owner of the land and provides in part as follows:
713.04 Subdivision improvements. — Any lienor who, regardless of whether in privity, performs services or furnishes material to real property for the purpose of making it suitable as the site for the construction of an improvement or improvements shall be entitled to a lien on the real property for any money that shall be owing to him for his services or materials. The work of making real property suitable as the site of an improvement shall include but shall not be limited to the grading, leveling, excavating and filling of land (including the furnishing of fill soil), the grading and paving of streets, curbs and sidewalks, the construction of ditches and other area drainage facilities, and the laying of pipes and conduits for water, gas, electric, sewage and drainage purposes, and construction of canals and shall also include the altering, repairing and redoing of all said things. .
. 713.22 Duration of lien.—
(1) No lien provided by part I of this chapter shall continue for a longer period than one year after the claim of lien has been recorded unless within that time an action to enforce the lien is commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction.
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Mershon v. Buckles-Thompson, Inc., 383 So. 2d 280 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…t time of trial only sustains a suit for damages on an oral contract. There is no evidence as to notice to owner or to show that it qualifies under the “subdivision exception”1 as set forth in American Fire and Casualty Co. v. Davis Water and Waste, 377 So. 2d 164 (Fla.1979). In order to be awarded attorney’s fees, the suit must be on a foreclosure of mechanic’s, workman’s or materialman’s lien, Nelson’s Inc. v. Halifax Construction Company, 305 So. 2d 840 (Fla.3d DCA 1974). A suit on an oral contract does…
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Hiller v. Phoenix Assocs. OF S. Fla., Inc., 189 So. 3d 272 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…transferred there was no deadline to commence an action against the surety and instead Phoenix merely heeded to add the surety to its pending action “at some point.” ' Relying on American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Davis Water & Waste Industries, Inc., 377 So. 2d 164, 164 (Fla.1979), the trial court found "that the suit to enforce the lien was timely filed and “[t]he delay in joining the surety ... did not violate the statute or prejudice the surety in any way.” Based on these findings the trial court denied Hil…
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Sewer Viewer, Inc. v. Shawnee Sunset Developers, Inc., 454 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)…slature intended to create a separate category of lien for subdivisions in regard to the manner, amount, and extent of a lien perfected under section 713.04. Our supreme court in American Fire & Casualty Co. v. Davis Waste & Water Industries, Inc., 377 So. 2d 164 (Fla.1979), a decision which construed a prior version of section 713.04 as exempting lienors making subdivision improvements from the requirement of serving a notice to owner, adopted the reasoning of the Fourth District in American Fire & Casualty…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Am. Fire & Cas. Co. v. Davis Water & Waste Indus., Inc., 358 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- Booth v. JOE Lombardi, Inc., 309 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)
- Woodmere N. Inv. Fund Ltd. v. SLT Warehouse, 364 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)
- Baumgartner Constr. Co., Inc. v. Harrell, 364 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)