| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to lis pendens; amending s. 48.23, F.S.; |
| 3 | permitting property to be sold exempt from claims asserted |
| 4 | in an action when the lis pendens has expired or been |
| 5 | withdrawn or discharged; requiring a notice of lis pendens |
| 6 | to include the date of the action or the case number of |
| 7 | the action; extending the time in which the holder of an |
| 8 | unrecorded interest or lien may intervene in a pending |
| 9 | action; providing for the control and discharge of a lis |
| 10 | pendens that no longer affects the property; providing an |
| 11 | effective date. |
| 12 |
|
| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
|
| 15 | Section 1. Section 48.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 16 | read: |
| 17 | 48.23 Lis pendens.-- |
| 18 | (1)(a) An No action in any of the state or federal courts |
| 19 | in this state operates as a lis pendens on any real or personal |
| 20 | property involved therein or to be affected thereby only if |
| 21 | until a notice of lis pendens the commencement of the action is |
| 22 | recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the |
| 23 | county where the property is located and such notice has not |
| 24 | expired pursuant to subsection (2) or been withdrawn or |
| 25 | discharged., which notice contains |
| 26 | (b)1. An action that is filed for specific performance or |
| 27 | that is not based on a duly recorded instrument has no effect, |
| 28 | except as between the parties to the proceeding, on the title |
| 29 | to, or on any lien upon, the real or personal property unless a |
| 30 | notice of lis pendens has been recorded and has not expired or |
| 31 | been withdrawn or discharged. |
| 32 | 2. Any person acquiring for value an interest in the real |
| 33 | or personal property during the pendency of an action described |
| 34 | in subparagraph 1., other than a party to the proceeding or the |
| 35 | legal successor by operation of law, or personal representative, |
| 36 | heir, or devisee of a deceased party to the proceeding, shall |
| 37 | take such interest exempt from all claims against the property |
| 38 | that were filed in such action by the party who failed to record |
| 39 | a notice of lis pendens or whose notice expired or was withdrawn |
| 40 | or discharged, and from any judgment entered in the proceeding, |
| 41 | notwithstanding the provisions of s. 695.01, as if such person |
| 42 | had no actual or constructive notice of the proceeding or of the |
| 43 | claims made therein or the documents forming the causes of |
| 44 | action against the property in the proceeding. |
| 45 | (c)1. A notice of lis pendens must contain the following: |
| 46 | a. The names of the parties., |
| 47 | b. The date time of the institution of the action or the |
| 48 | case number of the action., |
| 49 | c. The name of the court in which it is pending., |
| 50 | d. A description of the property involved or to be |
| 51 | affected., and |
| 52 | e. A statement of the relief sought as to the property. |
| 53 | 2. In the case of any notice of lis pendens filed on the |
| 54 | same date as the pleading upon which the notice is based, the |
| 55 | clerk's notation of the date of receipt on the notice shall |
| 56 | satisfy the requirement that the notice contain the date of the |
| 57 | institution of the action. |
| 58 | (d)(b) Except for the interest of persons in possession or |
| 59 | easements of use, the recording filing for record of such notice |
| 60 | of lis pendens, provided that during the pendency of the |
| 61 | proceeding it has not expired pursuant to subsection (2) or been |
| 62 | withdrawn or discharged, constitutes shall constitute a bar to |
| 63 | the enforcement against the property described in the said |
| 64 | notice of lis pendens of all interests and liens, including, but |
| 65 | not limited to, federal tax liens and levies, unrecorded at the |
| 66 | time of recording the filing for record such notice of lis |
| 67 | pendens unless the holder of any such unrecorded interest or |
| 68 | lien intervenes shall intervene in such proceedings within 30 20 |
| 69 | days after the filing and recording of the said notice of lis |
| 70 | pendens. If the holder of any such unrecorded interest or lien |
| 71 | does not intervene in the proceedings and if such proceedings |
| 72 | are prosecuted to a judicial sale of the property described in |
| 73 | the said notice of lis pendens, the property shall be forever |
| 74 | discharged from all such unrecorded interests and liens. If the |
| 75 | In the event said notice of lis pendens expires or is withdrawn |
| 76 | or discharged by order of the court, the expiration, withdrawal, |
| 77 | or discharge of the notice does same shall not in any way affect |
| 78 | the validity of any unrecorded interest or lien. |
| 79 | (2) A No notice of lis pendens is not effectual for any |
| 80 | purpose beyond 1 year from the commencement of the action and |
| 81 | will expire at that time, unless the relief sought is disclosed |
| 82 | by the pending initial pleading to be founded on a duly recorded |
| 83 | instrument or on a lien claimed under part I of chapter 713 |
| 84 | against the property involved, except when the court extends the |
| 85 | time of expiration on reasonable notice and for good cause. The |
| 86 | court may impose such terms for the extension of time as justice |
| 87 | requires. |
| 88 | (3) When the pending initial pleading does not show that |
| 89 | the action is founded on a duly recorded instrument or on a lien |
| 90 | claimed under part I of chapter 713 or when the action no longer |
| 91 | affects the subject property, the court shall may control and |
| 92 | discharge the recorded notice of lis pendens as the court would |
| 93 | may grant and dissolve injunctions. |
| 94 | (4) This section applies to all actions now or hereafter |
| 95 | pending in any state or federal courts in this state, but the |
| 96 | period of time specified in subsection (2) above-mentioned does |
| 97 | not include the period of pendency of any action in an appellate |
| 98 | court. |
| 99 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |