Mazurek v. Ferraro
Docket: No. 2D05-5009
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 7, 2006; Florida; State Appellate Court
Donna Mazurek's appeal challenges an order that denied her motion to vacate a General Master’s findings related to child support credit awarded to Vasco Ferraro. The appellate court determined that the trial court incorrectly included prejudgment interest in the credit amount and improperly set October 30, 2000, as the effective date for this credit. The background includes a February 1989 paternity judgment establishing Ferraro as the father and requiring him to pay child support. In September 1989, the court granted Mazurek a lien on Ferraro’s Pasco County property to secure future child support payments, which she recorded publicly. Following legal actions involving Ferraro’s ex-wife, Catherine Ferraro, who also claimed interest in the property, Mazurek purchased the property at a sheriff's sale in June 1991 for $1,000. In 1993, during a child support contempt hearing, the trial court found that Ferraro could receive credit for Mazurek's interest in the property if she prevailed in a quiet title lawsuit. The property was valued at $40,000, and the trial court ruled that Ferraro should receive credit equivalent to this value minus Mazurek’s purchase price without mentioning interest. Eventually, a 2000 ruling confirmed Mazurek's clear title to the property, but the appellate court found that the trial court incorrectly applied interest from an arbitrary date (October 30, 2000) and did not account for the date of the final appellate mandate (August 8, 2001). The appellate court reversed the lower order and remanded the case for recalculation of the amounts due based on the correct date, instructing the trial court to determine child support arrears and apply the credit appropriately. Remaining arrears should be reduced to judgment and will accrue interest at the legal rate.