REBEKAH PARIZ, APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
HELEN M. COLON, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE HELEN M. COLON REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST AND HELEN M. COLON REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The trial court erred by believing it lacked the power to order the transfer of title to the subject property, as it possessed both in rem jurisdiction and equitable discretion to do so.
Rebekah Pariz sued Helen M. Colon for breach of fiduciary duty, seeking an equitable lien on real property. The trial court awarded an equitable lien …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse In Rem Jurisdiction cases and more on FLexlaw
Rebekah Pariz appeals the trial court’s Amended Final Judgment awarding her a $385,000 equitable lien on real property located in Coral Gables, Florida, on her breach of fiduciary duty claim against the defendant Helen M. Colon, individually and as trustee of the Helen M. Colon Revocable Living Trust. We reverse and remand.
We agree with Pariz that the trial court was under the erroneous impression that it could not order the transfer of title of the subject property to Pariz. The trial court had in rent jurisdiction over the property because the property was located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. See Ruth v. Dep’t of Legal Affairs, 684 So.2d 181, 185 (Fla.1996). In addition, a court sitting in equity has the discretion to award specific performance. See Castigliano v. O’Connor, 911 So.2d 145, 148 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). Here, the trial court had the jurisdiction and discretion to order in the final judgment that the title to the subject property be conveyed to Pariz. See Alt. Dev., Inc. v. St. Lucie Club & Apartment Homes, 608 So.2d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992).
Accordingly, we reverse the Amended Final Judgment and remand this cause to the trial court for reconsideration, in light of its in rem jurisdictional and equitable powers. The trial court is to reconsider, based on the evidence and equities presented, whether the appropriate remedy is to award Pariz the equitable lien on the property or whether title to the subject property should be transferred to Pariz. We further conclude Colon’s cross-appeal to be meritless.
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Se. Fish & Seafood Co. v. Edsel Cadena, 106 So. 3d 1009 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See, e.g., Pariz v. Colon, 77 So. 3d 721, 722 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (holding that a trial court had in rem jurisdiction over property situated within the county); Griveas v. Amoco Oil Co., 854 So. 2d 841, 843 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (“Only the circuit court in the county where the real property i…
Authorities Cited
- Ruth v. Dep't OF Legal Affairs, 684 So. 2d 181 (Fla. 1996)
- Castigliano v. O'Connor, 911 So. 2d 145 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- Alternative Dev., Inc. v. ST. Lucie Club & Apt. Homes Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 608 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)