Yorty v. Realty Inv. & Mortg. Corp., Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 June 2006
• Docket Number: No. 3D05-2129.,3D05-2129.
• Citation: 938 So.2d 1
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals
• Parties: Ian YORTY, etc., et al., Appellants, v. REALTY INVESTMENT & MORTGAGE CORP., INC., Appellee.

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938 So.2d 1

Ian YORTY, etc., et al., Appellants, v. REALTY INVESTMENT & MORTGAGE CORP., INC., Appellee.

No. 3D05-2129.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

June 21, 2006.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied October 3, 2006.

Murray A. Greenberg, Miami-Dade County Attorney, and Eric A. Hernandez, Assistant County Attorney, for appellants.

Stok & Associates, Aventura, and Robert A. Stok and Eric R. Thompson, for appellee.

Before FLETCHER and CORTIÑAS, JJ., and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

CORTIÑAS, Judge.

The appellants, Ian Yorty, as tax collector for Miami-Dade County, and Joel W. Robbins, as former property appraiser for Miami-Dade County¹ (collectively "County"), appeal from a non-final partial summary judgment continuing the stay of a tax deed sale and directing the County to apportion taxes for land owned by the appellee, Realty Investment & Mortgage Corp., Inc. ("RIMCI"). We reverse.

In 1996, Dade Foreign Trade Zone, Inc. ("DFTZ") and Wynwood Community Economic Development Corporation ("Wynwood") prepared and signed a document dedicating several real estate parcels, which each entity separately owned, into a six tract plat ("six tracts") named the Wynwood Industrial Complex ("WIC Plat"). On December 24, 1996, the WIC Plat, which is comprised of Tracts A through F, was recorded in the county public records.

In 1997, the County property appraiser assigned folio numbers for each of the six tracts in accordance with the subdivisions set forth in the recorded WIC Plat. In 1997, and every year thereafter, the County assessed the six tracts and sent corresponding tax bills and notices to DFTZ and Wynwood. In 1998, DFTZ paid the entire 1997 tax bill for the six tracts described in the WIC Plat.

This case concerns only Tracts A and B. Since 1998, taxes on Tracts A and B have not been paid, and over $1.4 million in delinquent taxes are currently owed on those two tracts.

In December 2001, DFTZ conveyed a mortgage to the appellee, RIMCI, for certain subdivisions of property situated within Tracts A and B and owned by DFTZ ("Subtracts"). The Subtracts consist of approximately one-third (1/3) of Tract A and five-sixths (5/6) of Tract B. DFTZ defaulted under the mortgage and RIMCI filed a suit for foreclosure. In lieu of foreclosure, DFTZ granted a deed to RIMCI, and later conveyed a curative and corrective deed ("deed") to RIMCI with a legal description referencing the WIC Plat. On February 5, 2004, RIMCI took fee simple title of the Subtracts. As we have noted above, Tracts A and B, in which the Subtracts are located, carried tax liens at the time RIMCI acquired title.

On August 9, 2004, RIMCI secured a buyer for the Subtracts. On November 1, 2004, RIMCI requested that the County apportion the delinquent taxes on the Subtracts by subdividing Tracts A and B in accordance with the description in the deed. On January 13, 2005, the County property appraiser sent RIMCI a letter denying its request. In April 2005, RIMCI was served with notices stating that, unless all delinquent taxes on Tracts A and B were paid, a tax deed sale would occur on June 16, 2005.

On May 2, 2005, RIMCI filed its Verified Complaint alleging: (1) RIMCI is entitled to a declaratory judgment pursuant to section 86.011, et seq., Florida Statutes (2005), compelling the County to apportion the tax liens in accordance with RIMCI's ownership of the Subtracts; (2) the County deprived RIMCI of its right to alienate the Subtracts without due process of law under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, et seq., (2005); and (3) RIMCI is entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling the County to apportion the delinquent tax liens in accordance with RIMCI's ownership of the Subtracts. The trial court entered an order enjoining the tax deed sale.

The County filed a motion to dismiss RIMCI's complaint and RIMCI filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted RIMCI's motion for summary judgment with respect to its claims for declaratory judgment and mandamus relief, and denied the County's motion to dismiss with respect to the defenses concerning those claims.² The trial court stayed the tax deed sale on the Subtracts and ordered the taxing authorities to provide RIMCI with a tax bill only on land owned by RIMCI so that RIMCI could pay the property taxes owed on the Subtracts.

We review the trial court's entry of summary judgment de novo. See Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So.2d 126, 130 (Fla.2000). Summary judgment may only be entered if there are no genuine issues of material fact and if the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Id. (citing Menendez v. Palms West Condo. Ass'n, 736 So.2d 58 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)).

We also review the trial court's denial of the County's motion to dismiss RIMCI's complaint de novo, as we are determining the legal sufficiency of RIMCI's allegations as a matter of law.³ See Apostolico v. Orlando Reg'l Health Care Sys., Inc., 871 So.2d 283, 286 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)(holding that an appellate court does not defer to the trial court on matters of law); Fox v. Prof'l Wrecker Operators of Fla., Inc., 801 So.2d 175, 178 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)(holding that whether a complaint sufficiently states a cause of action is an issue of law reviewed de novo). When considering a motion to dismiss, the allegations in the complaint are taken as true and viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Merovich v. Huzenman, 911 So.2d 125, 127 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)(citing Susan Fixel, Inc. v. Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc., 842 So.2d 204, 206 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)).

The main issues on appeal are whether the trial court properly granted RIMCI's motion for summary judgment and denied the County's motion to dismiss as to RIMCI's claims for declaratory judgment and mandamus relief. In order for a court to issue a writ of mandamus, "the petitioner must demonstrate a clear legal right to the performance of a ministerial duty by the respondent and that no other adequate remedy exists." Morse Diesel Int'l, Inc. v. 2000 Island Boulevard, Inc., 698 So.2d 309, 312 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (citations omitted). Moreover, the respondent must have an "indisputable legal duty to perform the requested action." Huffman v. State, 813 So.2d 10, 11 (Fla.2000)(citing Turner v. Singletary, 623 So.2d 537, 538 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)). While mandamus is available to enforce an established legal right, it does not establish that right. Morse Diesel, 698 So.2d at 312.

With respect to a declaratory judgment action, the claimant must demonstrate that it is in doubt as to the existence or nonexistence of some right or status, and that it is entitled to have such doubt removed. See Bryant v. Gray, 70 So.2d 581, 584 (Fla.1954); Abruzzo v. Haller, 603 So.2d 1338, 1339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Kelner v. Woody, 399 So.2d 35, 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). Although this court has recognized that our review of a declaratory judgment is limited and the trial court's decision is accorded a presumption of correctness, a declaratory judgment may be overturned on appeal if it is based on a misapplication of law or shown by the record to be clearly wrong. Williams v. General Ins. Co., 468 So.2d 1033, 1034 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)(citing General Ins. Co. v. Ramanovski, 443 So.2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Groover v. Adiv Holding Co., 202 So.2d 103 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)).

The County contends that the trial court erred in granting RIMCI declaratory and mandamus relief, and that the trial court failed to recognize that the recording of the WIC Plat in the county public records established the WIC Plat as the official county map of all lands identified on the plat. On the other hand, RIMCI contends that the County erred in its initial apportionment of the tracts because the tax rolls did not include an identification of RIMCI, or an accurate identification of DFTZ, RIMCI's predecessor in interest.

We find that, in assessing taxes on the Subtracts, the County did not err in relying on the WIC Plat filed by DFTZ and Wynwood. Section 193.114, Florida Statutes (1997) and Florida Administrative Code Rule 12D-8.007 provide that the property appraiser shall prepare the real property assessment roll. § 193.114, Fla. Stat. (1997); Fla. Admin. Code R. 12D-8.007. In doing so, the property appraiser refers to the recorded plats identifying the real property. § 177.021, Fla. Stat. (1997); Fla. Admin. Code R. 12D-8.008(1)(a)1. Section 177.021, Florida Statutes (1997), provides as follows:

Legal status of recorded plats. — The recording of any plats made in compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall serve to establish the identity of all lands shown on and being a part of such plats, and lands may thenceforth be conveyed by reference to such plat.

§ 177.021, Fla. Stat. (1997). Similarly, Florida Administrative Code Rule 12D-8.008(1)(a)1 provides as follows:

Where real property has been subdivided into lots according to a map or plat duly recorded in the office of the Clerk of Circuit Court of the county in which the lands are located, or is a condominium or co-operative apartment, the description of real property shall, in addition to Section, Township, Range, be based upon reference to such map or plat.

Fla. Admin. Code R. 12D-8.008(1)(a)1.

In the instant case, the property appraiser was entitled to rely on the WIC Plat in assessing the tracts. It is undisputed that, with the County's approval in 1996, DFTZ and Wynwood recorded the WIC Plat in the county records. The recording of the WIC Plat properly established the WIC Plat as the official county map of all lands identified on the plat. Neither DFTZ nor Wynwood challenged the tax assessment on the tracts. In fact, DFTZ paid the entire 1997 tax bill for the six tracts described in the WIC Plat. Thus, we find that the property appraiser properly based its tax assessment on the WIC Plat.

RIMCI next contends that it is entitled to an apportionment of taxes and an assignment of new folio numbers for the real...