Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Section 712.02, Florida Statutes (2003), provides that "[a]ny person ... vested with any estate in land of record for 30 years or more, shall have a marketable record title ... free and clear of all claims" except those set forth as exceptions in section 712.03. [3] Section *1228 712.04, Florida Statutes (2003), titled "Interests extinguished by marketable record title" provides in pertinent part: Subject to the matters stated in s....

...f an easement. Although we recognize that the "all claims" language in MRTA is broad in scope and that MRTA does not contain an express exception for statutory ways of necessity in section 712.03, we note that the "all claims" language is limited by section 712.04. Specifically, section 712.04 limits the claims extinguished by MRTA to those that "depend[ ] upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title. " (Emphasis supplied.) Applying section 712.04 of MRTA to common law ways of necessity is straightforward. Because a common law way of necessity is created at the time of the title transaction that created the landlocked property, a claim to a common law way of necessity can be extinguished under section 712.04 if that title transaction occurred prior to the root of title....

...We next consider the question of whether the Marketable Record Title Act applies so as to bar claims of title in the subject property where it was previously held in public trust by the state, but later conveyed to the city. The city contends that certain exceptions in Florida Statutes, Section 712.04, prevent the application of the Marketable Record Title Act to the city's claim....

...The purpose of the act is to simplify and facilitate land transactions by allowing persons interested therein to rely on a record title. Section 712.10, F.S. 1967, F.S.A. The purpose of the act is accomplished basically by the provisions of Sections 712.02 and 712.04, F.S....

...The specific enumeration of exceptions to the act in Section 712.03 and the specific provision in Section 712.05 for the protection of valid claims indicates a legislative intent to exclude no other claims from extinction by the operation of Sections 712.02 and 712.04....

...may be based on a void deed. Compare Wilson v. Kelley, Case No. 68-421, decided by the Florida Second District Court of Appeal on 14 May 1969 wherein it held that the Marketable Title Act may be applied to a wild deed. Section 712.02 correlates with Section 712.04. The first sentence of Section 712.04 states that "* * * such marketable record title shall be free and clear of all estates, interest * * *." The phase "such marketable record title" refers back to the marketable record title declared and defined in Section 712.02. The second sentence of Section 712.04 amplifies upon the claims which are rendered null and void by the marketable record title....

...mplication from the affirmative allegation that the defendants have present claims to the land in question. The defendants, therefore, appear from the allegations of the complaint to have a marketable record title as defined in Section 712.02. Under Section 712.04 this title is cleared of all estates, interests, claims or charges whatsoever the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title....

...corded easements and similar interests `so long as same are used'; and (6) rights of persons in whose name the land is assessed for certain periods. It is apparent that the defendants' claims do not come within the scope of the exceptions specified. Section 712.04 provides for the extinguishment `of all estates, interests, claims or charges ......

...Justice Ervin, dissenting, found conflict on two points and there took issue with the District Court's interpretation of the Marketable Record Title Act. Justice Ervin aptly stated the sentiments which I hold: "The Marketable Record Title Act (particularly F.S. Section 712.04, F.S.A....

...hose set forth in section 712.03, Florida Statutes. When the Marketable Record Title Act was originally adopted in 1963, and at all times relevant to this case, [4] section 712.03 contained no exception in favor of sovereignty lands. On the contrary section 712.04 indicated that all governmental rights depending on any act or event prior to the date of a root of title were extinguished excepting only rights in favor of the state reserved in deeds by which Florida parted with title....

...the estate either in that person or in someone else from whom the estate has passed to that person. Second, subject to six exceptions, it extinguishes all interests in the estate which predate the "root of title." Id. at 1008-09 (footnotes omitted). Section 712.04, Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part: Subject to the matters stated in s....

...712.03, such marketable record title shall be free and clear of all estates, interests, claims, or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title. § 712.04, Fla....

...te claimed by any person and which is the last title transaction to have been recorded at least thirty years prior to the time when the marketability is being determined." § 712.01(2), Fla. Stat. (2002). The courts that have interpreted and applied section 712.04 have consistently held, in accordance with the expressed legislative intent, that MRTA only applies to interests or claims that existed prior to the root of title....

...2d DCA 1987), for example, the court held: The MRTA extinguishes "all estates, interests, claims or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title." § 712.04, Fla....

...However, the reframed dispositive *612 question — the only matter that merits discussion — is whether the marketable record title act, found in Chapter 712, F.S. 1971, F.S.A., operated to quiet plaintiff's title and, particularly, whether the 1890 deed from the Trustees fit an exception delineated in Section 712.04, F.S....

...ther alone or with his predecessors in title, has been vested with title for thirty years has a marketable record title free and clear of all claims except those enumerated in Section 712.03, F.S. 1971, none of which are applicable in this instance. Section 712.04, F.S. 1971, provides: "712.04 Interests extinguished by marketable record title....

...interest of the United States, Florida or any of its officers, boards, commissions or other agencies reserved in the patent or deed by which the United States, Florida or any of its agencies parted with title." (Emphasis supplied.) With reference to § 712.04, all interests, whether they are private or governmental, are void except and only where any right, title or interest is reserved in the deed. The 1890 deed from the Trustees was outside plaintiff's thirty year chain of title and contained no reservation in the deed. It is the defendant's contention that we should read § 712.04 as to include implied state governmental reservation of title to sovereign lands....

...to be made in the deeds of conveyance. Had the state wished to create a reservation, it seems logical that it would have so mentioned in the 1889 act or 1890 deed. In view of the fact that there was no such reservation in the deed, the exception of § 712.04 does not govern. Furthermore, *614 had the Legislature wished a broader statutory exception under § 712.04, whether by implication or specific disclaimer, and reservation of any power of conveyance of sovereign land, they could have so provided in the statute....

...They did not and it is our view that the statute is to be read literally. We determine that the plaintiff did have valid title to the lands in question, that the marketable record title act governs and clears plaintiff's title and that the 1890 deed from the sovereign without reservations was not an exception under Section 712.04....

...Noting that the Marketable Record Title Act is subject to a group of exceptions, the District Court found that none of the exceptions of Fla. Stat. § 712.03, F.S.A., were applicable to the facts of the case. The District Court then considered Fla. Stat. § 712.04, F.S.A., which provides: "Subject to the matters stated in § 712.03, such marketable record title shall be free and clear of all estates, interests, claims or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transacti...

...rict Court then found that the 1890 deed from the Trustees was beyond the 30 year chain of title of respondent required by the Marketable Record Title Act, and that the 1890 deed contained no reservation. Noting that petitioner urged that Fla. Stat. § 712.04, F.S.A., should be construed to include implied state reservation of title to sovereign lands, the District Court concluded that the statute should rather be interpreted so as to require an explicit reservation on the State's part....

...ture of the submerged land in question as to its sovereignty. We really should not be judicially giving open water unfilled-in sovereignty areas to private persons. These areas belong to the public. The Marketable Record Title Act (particularly F.S. Section 712.04, F.S.A....

...quare feet of the property. In an effort to prevent construction of this new fire station, Martin, a resident of Palm Beach County, sued the Town seeking enforcement of the 1948 deed restriction. The trial court denied injunctive relief relying upon section 712.04 of the Marketable Record Titles to Real Property Act (MRTA). See § 712.04, Fla....

...(Emphasis added.) By including the state and any political subdivision or agency thereof as a "person" the legislature clearly intended for the MRTA to affect state properties as well as that of private citizens. The interests extinguished by the MRTA are described in section 712.04, Florida Statutes (1977), which reads as follows: Subject to the matters stated in s....

...Section sixteen lands, or school lands, could not be included in this exception or the exceptions to marketability listed in section 712.03, Florida Statutes (1977). In Sawyer v. Modrall, 286 So.2d 610, 613 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973), cert. denied, 297 So.2d 562 (Fla. 1974), the court said: With reference to § 712.04, all interests, whether they are private or governmental, are void except and only where any right, title or interest is reserved in the deed. The 1890 deed from the Trustees was outside plaintiff's thirty year chain of title and contained no reservation in the deed. It is the defendant's contention that we should read § 712.04 as to include implied state governmental reservation of title to sovereign lands....

...to the property during the thirty-year period, then all conflicting claims based upon any *15 title transaction prior to such thirty-year period are extinguished. The only exceptions to the MRTA not extinguished are those found in section 712.03 and 712.04, Florida Statutes (1977)....

...which the state never conveyed. To so interpret the act would defeat its purpose and deprive the state of funds for the benefit and support of its school system. The portion of MRTA principally relied on by this Court's majority for its decision is section 712.04, Florida Statutes (1977), which reads as follows: Subject to the matters stated in s....

...ute is any claim a governmental body makes after the government has initially conveyed publicly-owned land. I cannot read that section to act as an instrument which actually conveys unknown state lands to unknown persons. The exceptions contained in section 712.04 in my view prohibit such a result....

...Accordingly, we conclude that such title can be perfected under the act but only as against "all estates, interests, claims or charges whatsoever the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title. " [1] (Emphasis supplied.) § 712.04, Fla....

...has a marketable record title free and clear of all claims except those in 712.03. MRTA, however, does not affect the state's right, title or interest reserved in a patent or deed by which the state parted with title if the reservation is explicit. § 712.04, Fla....

...This was done in Modrall v. Sawyer, 297 So.2d 562 (Fla. 1974) and Odom v. Deltona Corp., 341 So.2d 977 (Fla. 1976), and by the trial court in this case. Therefore the final summary judgment is AFFIRMED. DAUKSCH, C.J., and COBB, J., concur. NOTES [1] See § 712.04, Fla....

...MRTA. [1] Odom v. Deltona Corp., 341 So.2d 977 (Fla. 1977). We hold that a tax deed is also a root of title under MRTA. The certainty of title necessary under MRTA requires that appellee's title be cured to the exclusion of appellants' interest. [2] Section 712.04, Florida Statutes (1979)....

...estate in land of record for 30 years or more, shall have a marketable record title to such estate in said land, which shall be free and clear of all claims except the matters set forth as exceptions to marketability in [section] 712.03. Similarly, section 712.04, titled "Interests extinguished by marketable record title," provides: Subject to the matters stated in [section] 712.03, such marketable record title shall be free and clear of all estates, interests, claims, or charges whatsoever, th...

...o have been recorded prior to the circuit court's determination of the subject property's marketability. The circuit court also found that the 1971 restrictions, which predated the 1974 root of title, were extinguished by the MRTA in accordance with section 712.04....

...Riverwind Parking, LLP, 842 So.2d 918 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). We agree that the 1977 amended restrictions, just like the 1971 restrictions, *630 do not provide an exception under section 712.03 that would prevent HLEI's interest in the property from being extinguished under section 712.04....

...ated by the zoning 7 The provisions of MRTA particularly relevant to this appeal are: (i) section 712.01, which provides definitions; (ii) section 712.03, which delineates nine sets of rights that are exempt from extinguishment by MRTA; and (iii) section 712.04, which supplies the operative language nullifying certain stale interests and claims in property. In relevant part, section 712.04 provides that, subject to certain exceptions, a property owner owns such property “free and clear of all estates, interests, claims, or charges, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event, or omission that occurred ....

...(2012). Owner also argues that, because the restrictive covenant gives Homeowners an “interest” in how Owner uses its property and a “claim” against the property if Owner were to violate the covenant, then the covenant is subject to MRTA’s extinguishment provision of section 712.04. Because the covenant authorizes Homeowners – private parties, as opposed to the County – to determine through a consent mechanism whether to vacate the use restriction, Owner asserts that the covenant is private in nature and, therefore, subject to MRTA. For these reasons, Owner asserts that the plain language of section 712.04 renders the restrictive zoning covenant null and void. 9  C....

...The trial court erred in applying the MRTA to this case. The MRTA extinguishes “all estates, interests, claims or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title.” § 712.04, Fla.Stat....

...08 deed does not educe liability under the policy. Section 627.7845(1) of the Florida Statutes merely requires a title insurer to perform a “reasonable title search” before issuing a title *110 insurance “commitment, endorsement, or policy.” Section 712.04 of the MRTA states that “[sjubject to s....

...712.03, 3 a marketable record title is free and clear of all estates, interests, claims, or charges, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event, or omission that occurred before the effective date of the root of title.” § 712.04, Fla....

...(2011). It is uncontested that the 1908 deed was recorded more than thirty years before the effective date of the root of title in this case. The “implied notice” on which Village Carver relies “depends upon” the existence of the 1908 deed. § 712.04....

...In the case before us, no one has sought to exercise a legal right or assert any interest pursuant to section 704.08. There has been no “act, title transaction, event or omission” giving rise to a claim under the title insurance policy, not to mention one “that occurred before the effective date of root of title.” § 712.04....

made clear by the provision now codified in section 712.04, Fla.Stat. (1985), providing as follows: All

...Section 712.02, Florida Statutes (2015), provides that "[a]ny person . . . vested with any estate in land of record for 30 years or more, shall have a marketable record title . . . free and clear of all claims except" those set forth as exceptions in section 712.03. This is echoed in section 712.04, which states that a marketable title "is free and clear of all estates, interests, claims, or charges, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event, or omission that occurred before the effective date of the root of title" unless it comes within one of the exceptions set out in section 712.03.3 Otherwise, the statute declares the interest to be "null and void." § 712.04; see also Matissek, 51 So....

...The effective date of the root of title is the date on which it was recorded." § 712.01(2). -4- 4, 2004, but by then MRTA had already extinguished the restrictions rendering them "null and void." See § 712.04; see also, e.g., Matissek, 51 So....

...Marketable title is title “free and clear of all estates, interest, claims, or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title.” Fla.Stat. § 712.04....

...capture and treat stormwater runoff from abutting roadways. 1 See §§ 712.001-12, Fla. Stat. (2023). Unless MRTA provides an exception, generally under MRTA a claim or encumbrance or other interest arising before the root of title is extinguished. § 712.04, Fla....

...upon any act, title transaction, event, or omission that occurred before the effective date of the root of title”; except as provided in section 712.03, “all such estates, interests, claims, or charges . . . are declared to be null and void.” § 712.04, Fla....

extinguishes stale claims and ancient defects of title. § 712.04, Fla.Stat. (1992). See Gregory M. Cook, The Marketable