Real Estate Litigation
FAQ.

A quiet title action is a lawsuit under Chapter 65, Florida Statutes, asking the circuit court to declare who owns a property and to remove competing claims, called clouds, from the title. The court brings in every person or entity that might claim an interest, gives them a chance to respond, and then enters a judgment establishing ownership against those parties. Quiet title actions are commonly needed after a tax deed purchase, when an old mortgage was paid off but never released of record, when a deed in the chain of title was forged or defectively executed, or when a prior owner's heirs were never properly accounted for. The end product is a court judgment that title insurers and future buyers can rely on.

Partition is the legal process under Chapter 64, Florida Statutes, for ending a co-ownership that no longer works. These cases typically follow inheritances, breakups, and failed joint investments. Any co-owner generally has the right to seek partition; the other owners cannot simply refuse to deal with the problem. The court first determines each owner's percentage interest, then either divides the land physically (rare for houses and condos, which cannot be split sensibly) or orders the property sold and the proceeds divided. Credits can be awarded for taxes, mortgage payments, and necessary expenses one owner carried alone, and the court can order reasonable attorney's fees and costs paid from the proceeds in proportion to each owner's interest.

The contract controls. Under the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar (FR/BAR) purchase contracts, if the buyer defaults without a valid financing, inspection, or other contingency to fall back on, the seller's typical remedy is to keep the deposit as agreed liquidated damages. If the seller is the one who defaults, the buyer can recover the deposit or pursue specific performance. In practice both sides often claim the money, and the escrow agent will not release it without a written agreement or a court order. The FR/BAR forms also require the parties to mediate deposit disputes before filing suit. Whether a contingency was properly invoked, and whether notice deadlines were met, usually decides these cases, so preserve every email, notice, and loan denial letter.

Sometimes, yes. Because every parcel of real estate is treated as legally unique, Florida courts can order specific performance, a judgment compelling a breaching seller to close on the contract terms rather than just pay money. The buyer must show a valid and sufficiently definite contract and that the buyer was ready, willing, and able to perform, including having the funds or financing to close. A buyer pursuing specific performance typically records a lis pendens at filing so the seller cannot convey the property to someone else while the case is pending. Buyers can instead elect money damages or a refund of the deposit, and the right remedy depends on the contract language, the market, and the facts.

A lis pendens is a notice recorded in the county's official records under Florida Statute §48.23 announcing that a lawsuit is pending that affects title to the property. Anyone who buys or lends against the property afterward takes it subject to whatever the court decides, which as a practical matter freezes most sales and refinances until the case ends. Because the effect is so powerful, the statute treats notices differently based on their foundation: a lis pendens founded on a duly recorded instrument or a construction lien stands largely as of right, while all others can be controlled or discharged by the court, conditioned on a bond, and expire after one year unless the court extends them. Recording an unjustified lis pendens can expose the filer to damages, so the decision requires careful judgment.

It depends on the defect. Some problems can be cured without litigation: a corrective deed, a recorded satisfaction for a mortgage that was paid off long ago, an affidavit resolving a name discrepancy, or a probate proceeding that formally passes title from a deceased owner. When the necessary party will not cooperate, cannot be located, or genuinely disputes ownership, a quiet title or declaratory judgment action becomes the tool that clears the record. Title problems tend to surface at the worst possible time, right before a closing or refinance deadline, so the first step is usually reviewing the title commitment to identify exactly which requirement is blocking the deal and choosing the fastest cure a title underwriter will accept.

Florida foreclosures are judicial, meaning the lender must file a lawsuit and prove its case in court. Once you are served, you generally have 20 days to respond, and missing that deadline can result in a default. Common defenses include lack of standing (the plaintiff cannot prove it holds the note), failure to satisfy conditions precedent such as the required default letter, payment and escrow accounting disputes, and limitations issues with old defaults. Alongside the court case, loss mitigation options such as loan modification, reinstatement, short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure may resolve the problem without a judgment. Even when a sale ultimately cannot be avoided, an active defense often creates time and negotiating leverage. Talk to an attorney before the answer deadline, not after.

Florida's Construction Lien Law, Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, lets contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers record liens against property they improved, and it imposes strict, short, and unforgiving deadlines on everyone involved: notices to owner, recording deadlines, and suit deadlines all run quickly. For owners, options include demanding that the lienor justify its claim, recording a notice of contest to shorten the lienor's time to sue, or transferring the lien to a cash or surety bond so the property's title is freed while the dispute plays out. For contractors, perfecting the lien correctly the first time is everything, because technical defects can be fatal to the claim. The deadlines in this area are too case-specific to generalize safely, so get advice promptly whichever side you are on.

Most boundary fights start with a survey, and many end there once the legal descriptions are reconciled. When they do not, Florida law offers several paths: an ejectment or trespass claim to remove an encroaching structure, an injunction, a declaratory judgment establishing the line, or doctrines like boundary by acquiescence where neighbors have treated a line as the boundary for years. Adverse possession is real but narrow: under Florida Statute §95.18, a person occupying land they do not own must possess it openly and continuously for 7 years, and in the usual case without color of title must also have returned the property for taxes and paid them during that period. Courts apply those elements strictly, so neither side should assume an old fence automatically ripens into ownership.

It depends on the claim. A lawsuit founded on a written contract, which covers most purchase agreement and escrow deposit disputes, generally must be filed within 5 years under Florida Statute §95.11(2)(b). Claims for fraud and many other non-contract theories generally carry 4-year periods, and some claims are shorter. The clock can also start at different events depending on the legal theory, and tolling rules occasionally move the dates. Treat these numbers as a framework rather than an answer: have an attorney confirm the deadline for each specific claim early, because a missed limitations period usually ends the case regardless of its merits.

Statistically, probably not. Florida circuit courts order nearly every contested civil case to mediation before trial, and most real estate disputes settle at or after mediation, once both sides have seen the documents and tested the key witnesses in deposition. That said, the cases that resolve well are the ones prepared as if trial were certain: clean pleadings, complete discovery, and a credible willingness to try the case create leverage at the mediation table. A small percentage of cases, often those involving genuinely disputed ownership or co-owners who cannot coexist, do go to trial, and you should hire counsel who is comfortable if yours becomes one of them.

Most real estate litigation is billed hourly, and the total depends on how hard the other side fights and how far the case goes before it resolves. Florida follows the American rule: each party pays its own attorney's fees unless a contract or statute shifts them. Many real estate contracts, including the standard FR/BAR purchase contracts and most commercial leases, contain prevailing-party fee provisions, which raise the stakes and create settlement pressure in both directions. Before filing, you should understand the realistic range of fees, whether a fee-shifting provision applies to your dispute, and whether the amount at stake justifies the fight. That cost-benefit conversation should happen at the first consultation, not after the first invoice.