Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Following a hearing, the court concluded that the mobile homes placed in the park were permanently affixed to the land and were a part of the real property. However, the court further ruled that the club members were not owners of the land within the meaning of section 320.015, Florida Statutes (1981), thereby holding that the mobile homes could not be taxed as real property. The property appraiser appealed the latter determination. The corporation and the club members cross-appealed the court's finding that the mobile homes were part of the realty. The pertinent portion of section 320.015 reads as follows: 320.015 Taxation of mobile homes....

...Mills, 263 So.2d 579 (Fla. 1972). Each member has practical dominion over his designated site which is essentially equivalent to ownership. We hold that each member's interest in the site on which his mobile home is affixed constitutes ownership for the purpose of section 320.015....

...[2] If our inquiry stopped there, Appellants would clearly be entitled to relief because their homes fit within this definition, thus allowing them to claim exemption from ad valorem taxation under article VII, section 1(b). However, we must consider the effect of section 320.015(1), Florida Statutes (1996) that provides: A mobile home, as defined in s....

...The doctrine of in pari materia requires courts to construe related statutes together so that they illuminate each other and are harmonized. Singleton v. Larson, 46 So.2d 186 (Fla.1950). This rule requires us to construe sections 193.075(1), 320.01(2)(a) and 320.015(1) together and to harmonize them, if possible....

...ile homes, as defined by law, shall ... not be subject to ad valorem taxes." However, that contention overlooks the portion of article VII, section 1(b) which qualifies the term "mobile homes" by the phrase "as defined by law." The law, by virtue of section 320.015(1), Florida Statutes (1987), takes mobile homes which are permanently affixed to land owned by the mobile home owner out of the definition of mobile homes, as referred to in article VII, section 1(b) and puts them into the category of taxable real property....

...As its first point on appeal, appellant contends that the trial court erred in characterizing the mobile home as real property. Appellant points out that the retail installment contract stated that the mobile home was to be considered personal property. Furthermore, although appellant recognizes the language in Section 320.015(1), Florida Statutes, [1] pertaining to the circumstances under which a mobile home is characterized as real property, it nonetheless contends that Section 320.015(2), Florida Statutes, [2] is controlling....

...It shall be presumed to be real property only if the owner of the mobile home is also the owner of the land on which it is located and the mobile home is also permanently affixed to the realty. The fact that the contract classified the mobile home as personal property is not dispositive. Section 320.015(2), Florida Statutes, clearly states that such a classification applies "for all purposes relating to the loan and security interest....

...to the provisions of the federal constitution or laws, or the state constitution. [3] Accordingly, because we find that the trial court properly applied the applicable statutes, we affirm the final judgment. ZEHMER and MINER, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 320.015, Florida Statutes, states in pertinent part, "A mobile home ......

...shall be subject only to a license tax unless classified and taxed as real property. A mobile home is to be considered real property only when the owner of the mobile home is also the owner of the land on which the mobile home is situated and said mobile home is permanently affixed thereto." [2] Section 320.015(2), Florida Statutes, states, "Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any mobile home classified by a seller or a lender as personal property at the time a security interest was granted therein to secure an obligation shall...

...ile homes, as defined by law, shall ... not be subject to ad valorem taxes." However, that contention overlooks the portion of article VII, section 1(b) which qualifies the term "mobile homes" by the phrase "as defined by law." The law, by virtue of section 320.015(1), Florida Statutes (1987), takes mobile homes which are permanently affixed to land owned by the mobile home owner out of the definition of mobile homes, as referred to in article VII, section 1(b) and puts them into the category of taxable real property....

...And because 21st Mortgage never established a lien on the mobile home that is enforceable in court against the claims of third parties like Echo River, it was unprotected when the mobile home became a fixture within the scope of the mortgage’s after-acquired property clause. 21st Mortgage draws our attention to Section 320.015(2), Florida Statutes (“Taxation of mobile homes”), which provides that “any mobile home classified by a seller or a lender as personal property at the time a security interest was granted therein to secure an obligation shall co...

...nds third parties, who are not signatories to the debtor’s security agreement. See Gen. Elec. Capital Corp. v. Sohn, 566 So. 2d 841 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (rejecting a creditor’s argument, which was based on its security agreement with a debtor and section 320.015(2), that its security interest in a mobile home survived a tax deed sale: “According to appellant, this part of the statute demonstrates that even if the mobile home was taxed with the lot as real property, the court should have fou...

...of mobile homes as real property subject to ad valorem taxation and capable of receiving the homestead tax exemption. A mobile home, regardless of its actual use, is subject only to a license tax unless it is classified and taxed as real property. 9 Section 320.015 (1), Florida Statutes, provides that a mobile home may be considered real property "only when the owner of the mobile home is also the owner of the land on which the mobile home is situated and said mobile home is permanently affixed...

...Const., raising the homestead tax exemption to $25,000.00. 3 See Art. VII , s. 4 (c), Fla. Const. 4 See 50 Fla. Jur.2d Taxation s. 3:2. 5 See 50 Fla. Jur.2d Taxation s. 3:1 and cases cited therein. 6 7 Fla. Jur. 2d Boats, Ships, and Shipping s. 3 and cases cited therein. 7 Id. 8 Supra n. 5. 9 Section 320.015 (1), Fla....

realty or personalty in any particular case. Section 320.015, F.S., provides in pertinent part that `[a]

...n. "Any mobile home ... shall be presumed to be real property only if the owner of the mobile home is also the owner of the land on which it is located and the mobile home is also permanently affixed to the realty.” A similar provision is found in section 320.015(1), Florida Statutes, pertaining to taxation of mobile homes. Subsection (2) of section 320.015 provides further, in part, that classification of a mobile home by a seller or lender does not prevent the owner from having the mobile home classified and taxed as real property under subsection (1)....

...a mobile home owner to be exempted from the requirement to purchase an MH license plate for the year of purchase even though the mobile home is permanently affixed to the land and probably will be placed on the real property roll the following year. Section 320.015 , F.S., expressly provides that mobile homes are subject to a license tax "unless classified and taxed as real property." See AGO 070-124 with regard to the possibility of a refund of a portion of the license tax for the period of motor vehicle tag life beyond the applicable January 1 tax day for real property....

valorem taxation. . . . (Emphasis supplied.) Section 320.015, F.S., provides in pertinent part as follows:

...Although a mobile home may be classified as real property for taxing purposes, any mobile home classified by a lender as personal property at the time a security interest was granted continues to be so classified for all purposes relating to the security interest as long as any part of the debt remains outstanding. § 320.015(1), (2), Fla. Stat. (2013). Section 320.015 provides as follows: (1) A mobile home, as defined in s....

...thereof, remains outstanding. Classification of a mobile home as personal property by a seller or a lender shall not prohibit the owner from having the mobile home classified and taxed as real property under subsection (1). § 320.015(1), (2), Fla....

...n personal property throughout the term of the loan. In fact, the financing agreement prohibited Gopher from allowing the mobile home “to become a part of real estate or to lose its status as personal property under applicable law.” In addition, section 320.015(2) expressly states that any mobile home classified by a lender as personal property at the time a security interest was granted shall continue to be so classified for all purposes relating to the security interest as long as any part...

...(2) A mobile home that is not taxed as real property shall have a current license plate properly affixed as provided in s. 320.08(11). Any such mobile home without a current license plate properly affixed shall be presumed to be tangible personal property. Section 320.015, Florida Statutes (2004), also addresses whether a mobile home is to be considered real or personal property and does so in a language similar to that found in section 193.075. Section 320.015 reads in pertinent part: (1) A mobile home, as defined in s....

...ination that a tax deed issued with respect to a parcel of land on which was located a mobile home extinguished an otherwise valid security interest held by a creditor. Once the owner permanently affixed the mobile home to his lot in accordance with section 320.015, it became subject to real property tax treatment....

...The corporation and members filed suit to enjoin the county property appraiser from taxing the mobile homes as real property. Though the trial court concluded that the mobile homes were part of the real property because they were permanently affixed to the land, it found that the members were not "owners" for purposes of section 320.015, and that consequently the mobile homes could not be taxed as real property....

...The appellate court, citing Mikos, again held that he was the "owner of that land for present purposes." Id. at 361. Here, Mr. Decanio was an owner of the mobile home and was the sole owner of the real estate upon which it was affixed. We think he had at the very least "practical dominion" over the land and mobile home. As section 320.015(2) points out, Mr....

real property. . . ." (Emphasis supplied.) Section 320.015, F.S. 1971, was amended by s. 2, Ch. 72-339