PLCA Condominium Association v. Amtrust-NP SFR Venture, LLC , 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 17315 ( 2015 )


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  •            DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
    FOURTH DISTRICT
    PLCA CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION,
    Appellant,
    v.
    AMTRUST-NP SFR VENTURE, LLC,
    Appellee.
    No. 4D14-2186
    [November 18, 2015]
    Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit,
    Broward County; Cynthia G. Imperato, Judge; L.T. Case No. 09-3490 (11).
    Stuart J. Zoberg and Guy M. Shir of Shir Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton,
    for appellant.
    Ronald E. Kaufman of the Law Offices of Ronald E. Kaufman, P.A.,
    Coral Gables, for appellee.
    LEVINE, J.
    The issue in this case is whether the trial court had jurisdiction to rule
    on a motion to determine amounts due to a condominium association
    following a final judgment of foreclosure. We find that the trial court did
    not have jurisdiction because the time to alter or amend the judgment had
    passed, and the judgment did not address the issue or reserve jurisdiction
    to determine the issue. As such, we reverse.
    AmTrust obtained a final judgment of mortgage foreclosure and later
    took title to the property at a foreclosure sale. PLCA Condominium
    Association (“Association”) was named as a defendant in the foreclosure
    action. Five months after the final judgment, AmTrust filed a motion to
    determine the amounts due to the Association. AmTrust argued that it
    was entitled to the safe harbor provision of section 718.116(1)(b), Florida
    Statutes (2013), which limits liability for past due assessments.1 The
    1   Specifically, section 718.116(1)(b) provides:
    (b) 1. The liability of a first mortgagee or its successor or assignees
    who acquire title to a unit by foreclosure or by deed in lieu of
    Association opposed the motion, arguing that the trial court did not have
    jurisdiction. The trial court granted AmTrust’s motion and found that
    AmTrust was entitled to the safe harbor provision.
    Once a final judgment is entered and the time allowed by the rules of
    procedure for altering, modifying, or vacating the judgment has passed,
    the trial court loses jurisdiction over the case “except for the purpose of
    enforcing the judgment.” Town of Palm Beach v. State ex rel. Steinhardt,
    
    321 So. 2d 567
    , 568 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). A trial court also “retains
    jurisdiction to the extent such is specifically reserved in the final judgment
    or to the extent provided by statute or rule of procedure.” Cent. Park A
    Metrowest Condo. Ass’n v. AmTrust REO I, LLC, 
    169 So. 3d 1223
    , 1225
    (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (citation omitted).
    In the present case, the trial court erred in finding that AmTrust was
    entitled to the safe harbor provision, since the trial court lacked
    jurisdiction because the time for altering or amending the judgment had
    passed. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.530(g) (2013) (“A motion to alter or amend
    the judgment shall be served not later than 10 days after entry of the
    judgment . . . .”).2 Additionally, the trial court’s order could not be
    characterized as enforcing the final judgment of foreclosure, as that
    judgment did not address the issue of past-due association fees. Cf.
    Citation Way Condo. Ass’n v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 
    172 So. 3d 558
    , 559
    (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (finding that the trial court had jurisdiction to
    consider a motion to determine amounts due to the association where
    “[t]he issue of unpaid assessments was raised in the underlying
    foreclosure for the unpaid assessments that became due before the
    mortgagee’s acquisition of title is limited to the lesser of:
    a. The unit’s unpaid common expenses and regular periodic
    assessments which accrued or came due during the 12 months
    immediately preceding the acquisition of title and for which
    payment in full has not been received by the association; or
    b. One percent of the original mortgage debt. The provisions of this
    paragraph apply only if the first mortgagee joined the association
    as a defendant in the foreclosure action. Joinder of the association
    is not required if, on the date the complaint is filed, the association
    was dissolved or did not maintain an office or agent for service of
    process at a location which was known to or reasonably
    discoverable by the mortgagee.
    2 Effective January 1, 2014, the time for service was expanded to fifteen days. In
    re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Civ. Pro., 
    131 So. 3d 643
    , 651 (Fla. 2013).
    2
    foreclosure action”). Further, the final judgment did not specifically
    reserve jurisdiction to determine the amount of past-due association fees.
    We note that other courts have reached the same conclusion under
    similar facts. See Cent. Mortg. Co. v. Callahan, 
    155 So. 3d 373
    (Fla. 3d
    DCA 2014); Montreux 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 remand for the trial court to dismiss the
    motion.
    Reversed and remanded.
    DAMOORGIAN and KLINGENSMITH, JJ., concur.
    *         *        *
    Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 4D14-2186

Citation Numbers: 182 So. 3d 668, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 17315, 2015 WL 7273417

Judges: Levine, Damoorgian, Klingensmith

Filed Date: 11/18/2015

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024