In LK Group Holding Company v. Spurrier Investments Inc., 38 Fla. L. Weekly D735a (Fla. 3DCA 2013), the Florida Third District Court of Appeal held that the reversal of a Florida eviction due to trial court error is not enough to support a claim for wrongful eviction by the tenant against the landlord. In this commercial eviction dispute, the landlord obtained an eviction against the tenant. The eviction final judgment was however reversed on appeal due to an error of the trial court in not permitting the tenant to pay disputed rental payments into the Court Registry. As a result, the tenant filed a counterclaim in the eviction case on the basis that the earlier eviction final judgment was in error.
Florida Wrongful Eviction
Florida law allows a wrongfully evicted tenant to bring a claim against the landlord for damages. A claim for wrongful eviction requires that the eviction be wrongful and that the landlord took some action that was not permitted by law. In this case, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal found that the landlord had done everything properly in the case and the only reason the eviction was set aside was because of an error by the trial court. As such, there was no wrongful conduct on the part of the landlord in this case. The appellate court determined there was no per se rule in the State of Florida that made an eviction based on judgment which is later reversed an automatic wrongful eviction. In the end, the tenant could not show any wrongful or deceitful conduct on the part of the landlord that resulted in the eviction or was taken to trick the trial court to issue the eviction.
Lessons Learned
To make a claim for a wrongful eviction, a Florida tenant must show the court specific wrongful conduct of the landlord that resulted in an eviction or steps that the landlord took to trick the trial court into entering an eviction final judgment.
Related Topics: Florida Real Estate Law, Florida Evictions, Florida Landlord Tenant Law, Miami Eviction Lawyer
