Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; July 9, 1993; Florida; State Appellate Court
Catherine Ferraro appeals a summary judgment that affirmed Donna Mazurek's ownership of a property in Pasco County following a sheriff's sale. The trial court's decision is reversed due to unresolved title issues and insufficient notice regarding the sale. After divorcing in January 1988, Ms. Ferraro received custody of their children and the family home but later discovered her ex-husband had purchased land in Pasco County in 1986 under a different name to conceal it during the divorce. In 1989, she sought to declare Mr. Ferraro as the owner of this undisclosed land, resulting in a default judgment in 1990 that incorrectly described the property.
An amended judgment correcting the legal description was signed later, but a new quitclaim deed was not obtained. Concurrently, Mazurek had successfully sued Mr. Ferraro for child support and recorded a judgment in Pasco County, which established a lien against any of Mr. Ferraro's real property there. By the time the July 1990 default judgment was recorded, Mr. Ferraro's interest in the Pasco property was subject to Mazurek’s lien.
In January 1991, Mazurek executed her judgment and arranged for the property’s sale, failing to notify Ms. Ferraro despite her recorded interest. Mazurek subsequently purchased the property at the sheriff's sale on May 30, 1991, receiving a sheriff's deed on June 6, 1991.
A suit to quiet title was initiated on April 30, 1991, with a lis pendens filed that included the correct legal description of the property. Ms. Mazurek moved to dismiss the case on June 3, 1991, claiming the complaint was flawed as it did not assert her interest in the property, despite her having already acquired the property through a sheriff’s sale and waiting for the statutory period to expire before taking title. The trial court did not assess whether Ms. Ferraro's quitclaim deed from September 25, 1990, established her as the legal owner of the smaller parcel involved. It was noted that, regardless of her legal ownership status, Ms. Ferraro's claim could warrant her notice of the sheriff's sale. The court emphasized the need for these issues to be resolved prior to any judgment on quieting title, leading to a reversal and remand for further proceedings.
Additionally, there were discrepancies regarding references to plat books, but no argument was made about the deed's validity due to these errors. A subsequent quitclaim deed from Mr. Ferraro to Ms. Ferraro in September 1991 was deemed likely irrelevant to the case. The record lacked certified documents from Hillsborough County and evidence of Ms. Mazurek's judgment for arrears in Pasco County, leading to the use of "apparently" for uncertain facts based on affidavits or unchallenged statements. Ms. Mazurek had filed previous lawsuits against Mr. Ferraro in 1988 and 1989, but further details were absent. The record indicated Ms. Mazurek was aware of Ms. Ferraro's claim during the sheriff's sale arrangements, and her affidavit acknowledged this claim without denying knowledge. It described judgments declaring Mr. Ferraro the legal owner and correcting a scrivener's error. Ms. Ferraro did not need to file a separate action to contest the sheriff's sale as she had already addressed these issues in her quiet title suit and raised the notice inadequacy as a defense against Ms. Mazurek's claim.
