The Florida Legislature recently adopted House Bill 7207 which drastically changes the landscape of Florida’s Growth Management procedures. The bill itself comprises 349 pages (the majority of which deals with matters unrelated to growth management) and the drastic changes it proposes are too numerous to cover in a blog entry. A sampling of some of
Judicial Update
Code Enforcement Lien Case Certified to Florida Supreme Court
Posted in Judicial Update
On March 25, we reported on a recent appellate case in which the court refused to recognized the “superpriority” status of code enforcement liens established by a local ordinance. We indicated that a motion was pending to certify the case to the Florida Supreme Court. In a recent ruling on that motion, the 5th…
Code Enforcement Liens Lack Priority Over Prior-Recorded Mortgages
Posted in Judicial Update
Code enforcement liens that were granted “superpriority” status by a local government ordinance were held to lack priority to a prior-recorded mortgage in a recent Florida appellate court decision. City of Palm Bay v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 36 Fla. L. Weekly D161 (Fla. 5th DCA January 21, 2011).
The City of Palm Bay enacted an ordinance creating its Code Enforcement Board in 1997. Under the ordinance, liens on real property created by the Board would be co-equal with state and local tax liens, and would be “superior in dignity to all other liens, titles and claims.”Continue Reading Code Enforcement Liens Lack Priority Over Prior-Recorded Mortgages
Judicial Update: The Continuing Saga of SB360, Community Renewal Act
Posted in Judicial Update
The 2009 Florida Legislature’s attempt to provide some relief to the development community met its demise in a Tallahassee circuit court. Circuit Judge Charles Francis’ order of Final Summary Judgment, entered on August 26, 2010, declared Senate Bill 360 unconstitutional as a violation of Article VII, Section 18(a) of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits the…