Florida Statute 66.061 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 66
EJECTMENT

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66.061 Betterment, trial and verdict.—If an answer is filed, trial shall be on the issues made. If no answer is filed, trial shall be ex parte, but defendant is required to prove every allegation of the petition. If the jury (or if a jury is waived, the court) finds in favor of defendant, it shall assess:

(1) The value of the land at the time of the assessment, irrespective of the improvements put upon the land by defendant or those under whom he or she derives, and if any, the injury done to the land by defendant or those under whom he or she derives.

(2) The value of the permanent improvements at the time of the assessment.

(3) The injury, if any, done to the land by defendant or those under whom he or she derives.

(4) The value of the use of the land by defendant between the time of the judgment in ejectment and the time of the assessment or if defendant has been evicted from or has surrendered the premises, from the time of the judgment to the time of the surrender or eviction. The findings shall be specified separately on each of these matters.

History.—RS 1518; GS 1973; RGS 3241; CGL 5049; s. 2, ch. 29737, 1955; s. 21, ch. 67-254; s. 350, ch. 95-147.

Note.—Former s. 70.08.

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Amendments to 66.061

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 66.061

Total Results: 5 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Seddon v. Harpster, 438 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal

...gment of eviction is rendered against a defendant. Section 66.051, Florida Statutes (1981), allows the plaintiff in the judgment of eviction to file written defenses to the petition for betterment within twenty days after service of the petition and section 66.061, Florida Statutes (1981), provides for trial on the issues made....

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Brown v. Davis, 514 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 1987).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 440, 1987 Fla. LEXIS 2262

of the tracts; 2) “betterment” pursuant to section 66.061, Florida Statutes; 3) an equitable lien against

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Brown v. Davis, 493 So. 2d 523 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1986).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1891, 1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 9564

...After discovering the mistake, Mrs. Brown filed an ejectment action against Davis seeking damages and possession of her property. Appellee Davis responded and counterclaimed, seeking in the alternative: (1) an equitable exchange of the two tracts; (2) “betterment,” pursuant to section 66.061, Florida Statutes; (3) an equitable lien against Brown’s property; or (4) removal of the home from Brown’s property....

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Centennial Homeowners Assn. v. Dolomite Co., 47 So. 3d 863 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 15565, 2010 WL 3985299

...utilize the Betterment statute. The clear provisions of the statute make the trier of fact in the Betterment case responsible for *865 assessing the present value of the permanent improvements made by the petitioner and his predecessors-in-interest. § 66.061(2), Fla....

...the subject property if Dolomite failed to timely pay the valuation of the improvements as assessed by the trier of fact (minus "[t]he value of the use of the land by [Centennial] ... from the time of the judgment to the time of the ... eviction"). § 66.061, Fla....

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Hutto v. State, 173 So. 3d 998 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 7745, 2015 WL 2432060

synthetic drug as defined in this division.” Section 66-61(e) defines “illicit synthetic drugs” as including

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.