CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 1748538, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6556
...e to release a motor vehicle to Nice Car, Inc. (“Nice Car”). AAT raises a number of issues on appeal. We find merit to AAT’s argument that Nice Car, as a lien holder, was not entitled to invoke the right of possession upon posting a bond under section 559.917, Florida Statutes (2012), and reverse....
...ND LIEN-ORS AS REFLECTED IN THE NOTICE. NOTICE THAT THE OWNER OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE HAS A RIGHT TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE WITHOUT INSTITUTING JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS BY POSTING A BOND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF FLORIDA STATUTE 559.917. After receiving the notice, Nice Car posted a cash bond to cover the repair work done on the vehicle and accrued storage charges in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Repair Act. § 559.917(l)(a), Fla....
...Further, courts will avoid interpreting statutes in a manner that will lead to absurd results. Holly,
450 So.2d at 219 . We apply these common sense rules to the two statutory provisions implicated in this case. The first is section
713.585, found in Part II of Florida’s miscellaneous lien law. The second is section
559.917, found Part IX of Florida’s Regulations of Trade, Commerce and Investments....
...the circuit court in the county in which the vehicle is held.... (h) Notice that the owner of the vehicle has a right to recover possession of the vehicle without instituting judicial proceedings by posting bond in accordance with the provisions of s. 559.917....
...v. Broward County,
766 So.2d 1199, 1208 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000), particularly where, as here, not doing so will not lead to any absurd result or underminé the purpose of the statute. Holly,
450 So.2d at 219 . We find further support for our holding in section
559.917, “Bond to release posses-sory lien claimed by motor vehicle repair shop,” which provides in part: (l)(a) Any customer may obtain the release of her or his motor vehicle from any lien claimed under part II of chapter 713 by a motor vehicle repair shop for repair work performed under a written repair estimate by filing with the clerk of the court in the circuit in which the disputed transaction occurred a cash or surety bond.... §
559.917(l)(a), Fla....
...1 Nice Car and the Dealers Association also argue that our holding in 1616 Sunrise Motors, Inc. v. A-Leet Leasing of Florida,
547 So.2d 267 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), supports the very interpretation they would have us give to the definition of the term “customer” in interpreting section
559.917. We find Sunrise Motors to be of no precedential value. In that case, A-Leet was the owner of the vehicle. In contrast, Nice Car is neither the owner, nor the customer as that term defined in section
559.917. For all of the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the trial court erred in its conclusion that Nice Car was authorized to post a bond pursuant to section
559.917(l)(a), and was, therefore, entitled to possession of the vehicle as a lien holder....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...Herman of The Herman Law Group, P.A., Fort Lauderdale,
for appellee Southern Auto Finance Company, LLC.
GROSS, J.
We affirm the county court’s decision to vacate that portion of a final
judgment involving a bond posted by a lienholder on an automobile
pursuant to section 559.917, Florida Statutes (2020)....
...to
Finance Company, LLC (“SAFCO”), the lienholder on the vehicle. To
redeem the Infiniti, the notice required payment of $6,465.78, which
included the repair cost, storage charges, and the costs of the sale.
On January 21, 2020, pursuant to section 559.917, Florida Statutes,
SAFCO posted a bond to obtain the release of the Infiniti....
...complaint in the small claims court against Joseph. SAFCO was not made
a party to the lawsuit. The complaint alleged that it had completed repairs
but Joseph told them he was unable to pay for them. The repair shop
further alleged that SAFCO posted a $6,465.78 bond pursuant to section
559.917, Florida Statutes, and that it had released the vehicle to SAFCO.
The repair shop sought an order releasing the bond and awarding
attorney’s fees and costs.
The trial court held a final hearing at which neither Joseph nor SAFCO
appeared. On October 20, 2020, the court entered a final judgment
against Joseph for $7,111.68, which included $6,465.78 in damages, plus
pre-judgment interest and court costs. The court also ordered the release
of the section 559.917 bond posted by SAFCO to the repair shop.
SAFCO moved to vacate that portion of the final judgment involving the
disbursement of the bond. SAFCO argued that the final judgment was
void because the repair shop did not file a suit against SAFCO within 60
days from the posting of the bond to recover the bond pursuant to section
559.917(1)(b)....
...After a hearing, the county court granted the motion to vacate the final
judgment’s disposition of the bond. The court reasoned that because the
repair shop filed only a breach of contract lawsuit against Joseph and not
a lawsuit against SAFCO pursuant to section 559.917 within 60 days to
recover the bond, the final judgment as it related to SAFCO was void and
2
unenforceable....
...An indispensable party “has a due
process right to defend the suit in the same way any other named party to
civil litigation has a due process right to defend.” Green Emerald Homes,
300 So. 3d at 705.
Section
713.585, Florida Statutes (2019), and
559.917, Florida
Statutes (2020), establish that SAFCO was an indispensable party to an
action on the bond it posted.
1 In its motion for rehearing, the repair shop relied on America Atlantic
Transmission v. Nice Car, Inc.,
112 So. 3d 639 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), to argue that
section
713.585 does not give a lienholder the right to post a bond in order to
obtain possession, and that the term “customer” in section
559.917(1)(a), which
was defined in section
559.903(1), Florida Statutes (2012), does not include “any
person claiming an interest in or lien.” The statutory language of section
713.585, referenced by the repair shop in America Atlantic Transmission, had
been amended since July 1, 2016....
...has the right, as specified in subsection (5), to demand a hearing or to post a
bond.” §
713.585(1)(j), Fla. Stat. (2019). The same statutory language can be
found in subsection (1)(o) of the current statute. §
713.585(1)(o), Fla. Stat. (2020).
Also, section
559.917 has been amended to provide the right of “a person of
record claiming a lien against a motor vehicle,” to obtain the release of a vehicle
“from any lien claimed under part II of chapter 713 by a motor vehicle repair
shop” by posting a bond with the clerk of court. §
559.917(1)(a), Fla....
...(2019). Subsection (5), in turn, provides that “[a]t
any time before the proposed or scheduled date of sale of a vehicle, . . .
any person claiming an interest in the vehicle or a lien thereon, may post
a bond following the procedures outlined in s.
559.917.” §
713.585(5), Fla.
Stat. (2019).
Sections
559.901–559.9221, Florida Statutes, contain the Florida
Motor Vehicle Repair Act (the “Act”). §
559.901, Fla. Stat. (2020). Section
559.917 provides that “a person of record claiming a lien against a motor
vehicle may obtain the release of the motor vehicle from any lien claimed
under part II of chapter 713 by a motor vehicle repair shop” by filing a
bond with the clerk, “payable to the person claiming the lien and
conditioned for the payment of any judgment which may be entered on the
lien.” §
559.917(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2020).
Once a bond has been posted, a motor vehicle repair shop has “60 days
to file suit to recover the bond.” §
559.917(1)(b), Fla....
...Motor Vehicle to Satisfy Lien and sent notices to Joseph and SAFCO
pursuant to section
713.585, Florida Statutes (2019). Taking advantage
of subsection
713.585(5), SAFCO posted a bond in January 2020 and
obtained the release of the Infiniti to its possession pursuant to section
559.917. Once the bond was posted, the repair shop had 60 days to file
suit to obtain the bond money. §
559.917(1)(b), Fla....
...Davis,
472 So. 2d 831, 832 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985) (holding that trial court did not
depart from the essential requirements of law by ordering the release of a
bond where repair shop did not “plead a claim against the bond” within 60
days as provided in section
559.917(1)(b)). To permit the repair shop to
recover the bond in a breach of contract action solely against Joseph would
sidestep SAFCO’s statutory rights under section
559.917.
Affirmed.
FORST and KUNTZ, JJ., concur.
* * *
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
5
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...e, $1,890 for storage of the
car, and $675 for the cost of lien publication and sale.
FGAP posted a $3,565 cash bond with the clerk of the court. The clerk
issued a certificate notifying the body shop that FGAP had posted a cash
bond pursuant to section 559.917, Florida Statutes. The clerk also
directed the body shop to release the car to FGAP.
The body shop filed a statement of claim against Henao and FGAP in
small claims court to recover the cash bond pursuant to section
559.917(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2019).
At the pretrial conference, the county court entered a default judgment
against Henao, who failed to appear....
...nuine
issues of material fact as to whether the body shop had substantially
complied with the Act. See Fla. Sm. Cl. R. 7.135 (authorizing court to
“summarily enter an appropriate order or judgment” if there is “no triable
issue”).
In the Section
559.917 Bond Proceeding, FGAP Had Standing to
Defensively Raise the Body Shop’s Compliance with the Act
To collect the remainder of the bill and storage charges, the body shop
commenced a motor vehicle lien proceeding governed by section
713.585,
Florida Statutes (2019). Subsection
713.585(5) provides that, at any time
3
before a sale, “any person claiming an interest in the vehicle or a lien
thereon, may post a bond following the procedures outlined in s.
559.917.”
FGAP held a lien on the Mercedes....
...As a lienholder, FGAP had standing to
“allege any violation of part IX of chapter 559 in a proceeding instituted
pursuant to this subsection.” §
713.585(5), Fla. Stat. (2019).
FGAP took advantage of this section and posted a bond pursuant to
section
559.917, Florida Statutes (2019). Once a bond has been posted,
a motor vehicle repair shop has “60 days to file suit to recover the bond.”
§
559.917(1)(b), Fla....
...existing lien law to wrest away vehicle finance and leasing companies’ security or
ownership interest in vehicles upon which liens ha[d] been placed,” Fla. H.R.
Comm. on Judiciary, CS/CS/CS/HB 431 (2019) Final Staff Analysis 1 (June 10,
2019), the Florida Legislature in 2019 amended section
559.917 to align the
lienholders’ rights and protections under the Act with the plain language of
section
713.585(5), Florida Statutes. The amended section
559.917 became
effective January 1, 2020. It provides that “a person of record claiming a lien
against a motor vehicle may obtain the release of the motor vehicle from any lien
claimed under part II of chapter 713 by a motor vehicle repair shop” by filing a
bond with the clerk. §
559.917(1)(a), Fla....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1981).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
The Honorable Jerry L. Beck Clerk of the Circuit Court Glades County QUESTIONS: 1. May the clerk of the court charge a service fee for issuing a certificate notifying the lienor of the posting of a bond to release a possessory lien under s.
559.917 , F.S., and if so, how should the clerk compute the charge? 2. Must the certificate be recorded in the public records, and if so, who pays the recording fees? 3. May the clerk of the court charge a registry fee pursuant to s.
28.24 (14), F.S., when a cash or surety bond is posted in accordance with s.
559.917 , F.S.? 4....
...ay the mailing fee? 6. May the clerk of the court require the depositor to request discharge of the bond if no suit to recover the bond is filed within 60 days or must the clerk automatically discharge the bond? 2. The certificate issued pursuant to s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...neither authorizes nor requires the recording of such certificate in the public records. 3. The clerk of the court may charge the fees provided for in s.
28.24 (14) when `money' is deposited in or received into the registry of the court pursuant to s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.), but may not charge the fees provided for in s.
28.24 (14) when a surety bond (as distinguished from cash as a substitute for surety on the bond) is filed with the clerk pursuant to s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.). 4. The clerk of the court is not authorized or required to approve the cash or surety bond posted pursuant to s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.). 5. The clerk of the court is not required to mail a copy of the certificate issued pursuant to s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...o personally present or mail such certificate to the lienor directing the release of the customer's motor vehicle. 6. The clerk of the court may not require that the customer request or otherwise move for the discharge of the bond posted pursuant to s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...within 60 days after the posting of the bond by the customer. SUMMARY: Until legislatively or judicially determined otherwise: 1. The clerk of the court may not make a service charge or fee for issuing a certificate as prescribed in and pursuant to s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...Your request for an opinion was prompted by the enactment of ch. 80-139, Laws of Florida, codified as part VIII of ch. 559 , F.S., also known as the `Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act.' Your letter to me seeks clarification of the duties imposed upon the clerks of the various courts by s. 559.917 , F.S....
...(1980 Supp.), and of the service charges which said clerks may lawfully charge for performance of such duties. It should be noted at the outset that this opinion does not deal exclusively with clerks of the circuit court or the circuit courts per se. Section 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...559 may bring an action in the appropriate court for relief, and s.
713.585 , F.S. (1980 Supp.), which in a number of instances specifies that certain demands for hearings, deposits and disbursements be filed and made with or by the clerk of the circuit court. AS TO QUESTION 1: Section
559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...to obtain the release of a motor vehicle from any lien claimed under part II of ch. 713 by a motor vehicle repair shop for repair work performed under a written repair estimate and to issue certificates for release of the depositor's motor vehicle. Section 559.917 (1)(a), F.S., which imposes said duties upon the clerk, reads as follows: Any customer may obtain the release of his motor vehicle from any lien claimed under part II of chapter 713 by a motor vehicle repair shop for repair work perfo...
...r to release the customer's motor vehicle . (Emphasis supplied.) The above subsection, while imposing additional duties upon the clerk of the court, does not state whether or not the clerk shall be entitled to any fee for the services rendered under s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...t where clearly provided by law.' Bradford v. Stoutamire, supra at 685 ; Pridgeon v. Folsom, supra . Thus, an officer demanding fees or service charges must point to a particular statute clearly authorizing the fee or service charge. As stated above s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...28.24 , F.S., regarding service charges by the clerk of the circuit court, or the provisions of s.
713.24 (1), F.S., relative to service charges on transfers of liens to other security under part I of ch. 713, are applicable to the services rendered by the clerk under s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.). Section
713.24 does not govern the clerks' services under s.
559.917 (1)(a), and while I cannot state unequivocally that the provisions of s....
...including signing and sealing' are not applicable, I have the view that the Legislature did not intend, nor did it clearly manifest any intent that the service charges in s.
28.24 (12) are to apply to the services of the clerk in issuing the certificate provided for in s.
559.917 (1)(a)....
...Since the Legislature specifically provided for the issuance of the certificate to be automatic upon the posting of the bond by the customer and does not condition the rendition of this service upon the payment of any fee or service charges, I interpret s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.), to be contrary to the provisions of s.
28.24 (12) and thereby prevails resulting in the clerk's gratuitous, automatic issuance of the certificate. Section
559.917 (1)(a) operates to require the customer to post the cash or surety bond under penalty of forfeiting all recourse under s.
559.917 as against the motor vehicle repair shop ( see s.
559.917 (4)) and requires the clerk to issue the prescribed certificate upon the posting of such bond....
...fees under that section, to wit: `5 percent of the proceeds deposited with him, not to exceed $25, for his services under (s.
713.585 , F.S. (1980 Supp.)).' (Nothing in s.
713.585 shall operate in derogation of the rights and remedies established by s.
559.917 , see s....
...charge need not be considered. AS TO QUESTION 2: Your second question also relates to the certificate at issue above and asks whether the certificate should be recorded in the public records, and if so, who should pay the recording fees. Nowhere in s. 559.917 , F.S....
...ed in s.
28.222 , Id ., and any other instruments or certified copies of instruments required or authorized by law to be recorded in the official records of the county. See, e.g ., ss.
28.29 ,
55.10 and
713.24 , Id . However, nowhere in ss.
28.222 ,
559.917 , Id ., or in any other statutory provision of which I am aware is there any authorization or requirement for the recordation in the official records of the certificate notifying the lienor of the posting of the bond and directing the lienor to release the customer's motor vehicle....
...Your second question is therefore answered in the negative and the question as to who pays the recording fees need not be considered. AS TO QUESTION 3: Your third inquiry is whether the clerk may charge a registry fee when a cash or surety bond is posted with the clerk in accordance with s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.). The statute provides for the posting of the bond `in the registry of the court.' I note, once again, that s. 559.917 (1)(a) does not provide that the clerk shall be entitled to a fee when a customer files a cash or surety bond....
...tatutory construction that words in statutes should be given their plain and ordinary meaning. Graham v. State,
362 So.2d 924 (Fla. 1978); Tatzel v. State,
356 So.2d 787 (Fla. 1978). The plain and ordinary meaning of `cash' within the terminology of s.
559.917 (1)(a) — `cash or surety bond' — would most certainly include `money.' It would therefore seem to follow that if a customer files a `cash bond' with the clerk in the amount as provided in s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S., then the provisions of s....
...customer; if such obligation or debt arises, is being filed with the clerk. In sum, it is my opinion that the clerk may charge the fees provided for in s.
28.24 (4) when `money' is deposited in or received into the registry of the court pursuant to s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.), but may not charge the fees provided for in s.
28.24 (14) when a surety bond is filed with the clerk pursuant to s.
559.917 . AS TO QUESTION 4: Your fourth inquiry is whether the clerk is required to approve the cash or surety bond posted with the clerk under the provisions of s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S. (1980 Supp.). Section 5(c), Art. II, State Const., provides that `[t]he powers, duties compensation and method of payment of state and county officers shall be fixed by law .' (Emphasis supplied.) Section
559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...28.24 .' (Emphasis supplied.) Since the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act imposes no duty upon the clerk regarding approval of the bond, it is my opinion that the clerk need not and is not authorized or required to approve a cash or surety bond posted by the customer in accordance with s. 559.917 (1)(a)....
...The answer to these questions is somewhat of a reiteration of the analysis contained in the answer to Question 4. Section 5(c), Art. II, State Const., provides, inter alia , that the duties of state and county officers shall be fixed by law. Since s. 559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...upon the customer. If the lienor fails to release or return the motor vehicle to the customer upon receiving the aforementioned certificate, judicial proceedings may be brought by the customer to compel compliance with the certificate. According to s. 559.917 (2), F.S....
...lienor directing said lienor to release the customer's motor vehicle. Cf . s.
713.811 , F.S., which states that `[n]otice shall be delivered personally to the purchaser or by registered or certified mail.' In summary, it is therefore my opinion that s.
559.917 (1)(a), F.S....
...he cause of action which the customer may later have to institute. AS TO QUESTION 6: Your last question asks whether the clerk of the court may require the depositor `to request bond discharge if no suit to recover the bond is filed within 60 days.' Section 559.917 (1)(b), F.S., provides in pertinent part as follows: The lienor shall have 60 days to file suit to recover the bond....
