Mayfield v. First City Bank of Florida

95 So. 3d 398, 2012 WL 3115140, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 12563
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedAugust 2, 2012
DocketNo. 1D11-3681
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 95 So. 3d 398 (Mayfield v. First City Bank of Florida) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mayfield v. First City Bank of Florida, 95 So. 3d 398, 2012 WL 3115140, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 12563 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROBERTS, J.

This appeal is a case of first impression resulting from unique circumstances involving electronic public records. Appellants Michael and Bonnie Mayfield (the Mayfields) and appellant Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB & T) seek reversal of a summary final judgment of foreclosure and argue that their title and mortgage to the property in question prevails over that of the appellee, First City Bank of Florida (First City). Although the appellants are in an unfortunate position that they did not create, we affirm because the trial court did not err in its construction of Chapter 695.

In October 2009, the Mayfields purchased real property (hereinafter Lot 2) in Walton County and received a warranty deed on Lot 2 from Bluewater Real Estate Investments, LLC (Bluewater). Simultaneously, the Mayfields granted a mortgage [400]*400on Lot 2 to Old National Bank that was subsequently acquired by BB & T. The Mayfields’ deed and mortgage were filed with the clerk of Walton County who recorded both documents in the official records on November 2, 2009.

Unbeknownst to the appellants, title to Lot 2 had been conveyed and a prior mortgage executed on the property. In 2006, Bluewater conveyed Lot 2 to Wright & Associates of Northwest Florida (W & A). W & A simultaneously granted a mortgage on Lot 2 to First City. The W & A deed and First City mortgage were filed with the clerk of Walton County for recording. After receiving the documents for recording, the clerk opened a recording transaction in the computer and affixed an official register book and page number on the hard copies of the W & A deed and First City mortgage so as to record the documents in the official records on July 6, 2006. Shortly after entering the documents in the computer, the clerk independently realized that she had made an error in the recording process and voided the W & A deed and First City mortgage from the official records. The clerk intended to re-record the aforesaid documents after correcting the error, but failed to do so and mistakenly recorded similar instruments concerning another parcel of property instead. Thereafter, the hard copies of the W & A deed and First City mortgage bearing the official register book and page numbers were returned to the parties. However, in the Walton County electronic official records, the corresponding book and page numbers showed that the documents were voided. Once a document is voided, it no longer appears in the official records or the index to the official records and cannot be found by a person conducting a search of the official records. Thus, except for a brief period of approximately 73 minutes on July 6, 2006, the W & A deed and First City mortgage did not appear in the official records of Walton County. Furthermore, only during this window of time could a member of the general public have discovered the W & A deed and First City mortgage.

In 2010, First City filed for foreclosure on Lot 2 due to a loan payment default by W & A. The Mayfields and Old National1 were named as defendants. The Mayfields moved for summary judgment based on their contention that they were bona fide purchasers without notice, and, therefore, their interests prevailed over that of First City. First City also moved for summary judgment arguing that it fully complied with the recording statute, and, as a result, the Mayfields and BB & T were placed on constructive notice of the First City mortgage. In granting a summary final judgment of foreclosure in favor of First City, the trial court found that, although the W & A deed and First City mortgage were voided from the public records, they were recorded in accordance with section 695.11, Florida Statutes (2011). The trial court further found that, because the documents were recorded, they provided constructive notice such that the Mayfields and BB & T were not entitled to the protection of section 695.01, Florida Statutes (2011).

On appeal, the parties dispute whether constructive notice could attach when the W & A deed and First City mortgage appeared in the official records for 73 minutes before being completely eradicated due to the clerk’s error. The appellants rely on section 695.01 and argue that it imposes a requirement that an instrument [401]*401presently “be” in the public records in order to impart constructive notice.

Section 695.01 provides, in part:

(l)No conveyance, transfer, or mortgage of real property, or of any interest therein, nor any lease for a term of 1 year or longer, shall be good and effectual in law or equity against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice, unless the same be recorded according to law....

Section 695.01 is a “notice” recording statute, the primary purpose of which is to protect subsequent purchasers (including mortgagees and creditors) against claims arising from prior unrecorded instruments. See Argent Mortgage Co., LLC v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., 52 So.3d 796, 799 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010). In order to prevail under section 695.01, the bona fide purchaser must be without notice, in this case, constructive notice.

In Sapp v. Warner, the Supreme Court defined constructive notice as “notice imputed to a person not having actual notice; for example, such as would be imputed under the recording statutes to persons dealing with property subject to those statutes.” 105 Fla. 245, 141 So. 124, 127 (Fla.1932). An examination of Florida case law reveals that courts have generally concluded that, when a party complies with the recording statute, constructive notice attaches and will not be destroyed by errors committed by the clerk.

For example, in First National Bank of Brooksville v. Evans, the appellant/mortgagee complied with the recording statute by filing a chattel mortgage for record, but the same was not recorded until later due to an omission by the clerk. 100 Fla. 740, 130 So. 18, 20 (1930). The mortgage lien was recorded by the clerk on the day an attachment lien on the same property was levied. Id. In determining whether the lien of the chattel mortgage was entitled to priority over the attachment lien, the Supreme Court held:

It was not the fault of the mortgagee, the appellant here, that the mortgage was not actually spread upon the record until the day the attachment was levied. Appellant had complied with the recording act in so far as it was -within its power, when it filed the chattel mortgage for record, and its lien cannot be affected by the omission of the clerk to record the mortgage as soon as it was filed.... Indeed, to hold that creditors and purchasers did not have constructive notice until the instrument was actually recorded would be to nullify our statute which reads as follows:
‘All instruments relating to real and personal property which are authorized or required to be recorded shall be deemed to be recorded from the time the same are filed with the officer whose duty it is to record the same.’ Section 5708(3830), Compiled General Laws of Florida 1927.

Id.

Similarly, in Federal Land Bank of Columbia v. Dekle,

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95 So. 3d 398, 2012 WL 3115140, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 12563, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mayfield-v-first-city-bank-of-florida-fladistctapp-2012.