(1) The closing agent shall, by interpleader action or other legal proceeding, seek adjudication of the rights of the parties with respect to disputed reserved proceeds by the county court or circuit court, whichever may have jurisdiction of controversies in the amount of the disputed reserved proceeds, in a county where all or a portion of the commercial real estate is located if, after the closing of a transaction for the disposition of the commercial real estate, all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The closing agent has reserved all or a portion of the owner‘s net proceeds pursuant to s. 475.709 and the owner disputes the release to the broker of all or any portion of the reserved proceeds.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 475.711

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Broker: means a person who, for another, and for a compensation or valuable consideration directly or indirectly paid or promised, expressly or impliedly, or with an intent to collect or receive a compensation or valuable consideration therefor, appraises, auctions, sells, exchanges, buys, rents, or offers, attempts or agrees to appraise, auction, or negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, or rental of business enterprises or business opportunities or any real property or any interest in or concerning the same, including mineral rights or leases, or who advertises or holds out to the public by any oral or printed solicitation or representation that she or he is engaged in the business of appraising, auctioning, buying, selling, exchanging, leasing, or renting business enterprises or business opportunities or real property of others or interests therein, including mineral rights, or who takes any part in the procuring of sellers, purchasers, lessors, or lessees of business enterprises or business opportunities or the real property of another, or leases, or interest therein, including mineral rights, or who directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or in the negotiation or closing of any transaction which does, or is calculated to, result in a sale, exchange, or leasing thereof, and who receives, expects, or is promised any compensation or valuable consideration, directly or indirectly therefor; and all persons who advertise rental property information or lists. See Florida Statutes 475.01
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Closing: means the delivery, exchange, and release of documents and funds for the completion of a transaction for the disposition of commercial real estate. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Closing agent: means the person who receives documents and funds for recording and disbursement in closing a transaction for the disposition of commercial real estate. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Commercial real estate: means a fee simple interest or other possessory estate in real property, except an interest in real property that is:
    (a) Improved with one single-family residential unit or one multifamily structure containing one to four residential units;
    (b) Unimproved and the maximum permitted development is one to four residential units under any restrictive covenants, zoning regulations, or comprehensive plan applicable to that real property; or
    (c) Improved with single-family residential units such as condominiums, townhouses, timeshares, mobile homes, or houses in a subdivision that may be legally sold, leased, or otherwise conveyed on a unit-by-unit basis, regardless of whether these units may be a part of a larger building or parcel containing more than four residential units. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Commission: means any fee or other compensation that an owner agrees to pay a broker for licensed services as specified in a brokerage agreement. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Commission notice: means the written notice claiming a commission made by a broker under…. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Days: means calendar days, but if a period would end on a day other than a business day, then the last day of that period shall instead be the next business day. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Disposition: means a voluntary conveyance or transfer of the title to or other ownership interest in any commercial real estate specified in a brokerage agreement. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Disputed reserved proceeds: means the portion of the owner's net proceeds reserved by a closing agent under…. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Owner: means a person that is vested with fee simple title or a possessory estate in commercial real estate. See Florida Statutes 475.701
  • real estate: means any interest or estate in land and any interest in business enterprises or business opportunities, including any assignment, leasehold, subleasehold, or mineral right; however, the term does not include any cemetery lot or right of burial in any cemetery; nor does the term include the renting of a mobile home lot or recreational vehicle lot in a mobile home park or travel park. See Florida Statutes 475.01
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) The owner and the broker have not agreed in writing, within 5 days after the closing, regarding the closing agent’s release of the disputed reserved proceeds.
(c) Neither the owner nor the broker have commenced a civil action to determine the rights of the parties with respect to the disputed reserved proceeds.
(2) Unless otherwise agreed to by the owner and the broker in writing, the closing agent shall deposit the net amount of disputed reserved proceeds in the registry of the court having jurisdiction of any legal action or proceeding to determine the rights of the parties in the disputed reserved proceeds, whether commenced by the closing agent under subsection (1) or commenced by the owner or the broker under s. 475.713 or otherwise. The closing agent shall determine the net amount of disputed reserved proceeds deposited in the court registry by deducting from the disputed reserved proceeds:

(a) Any costs incurred by the closing agent to commence such action or proceeding, or to appear in any such action or proceeding commenced by the owner or the broker, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(b) The costs of recording the affidavit described in subsection (3) if any commission notice has been recorded.
(c) The service charges of the clerk of court under s. 28.24 for receiving the net amount of such disputed reserved proceeds into the registry of the court.
(3) If a commission notice has been recorded in the public records of the county or counties where the commercial real estate is located, upon depositing the net disputed reserved proceeds with the clerk of court pursuant to subsection (2), the closing agent shall execute and record an affidavit referring to the recorded commission notice and stating that the net disputed reserved proceeds have been so deposited in accordance with this part. The recording of the affidavit shall operate to release the recorded commission notice.
(4) If a closing agent deposits the net disputed reserved proceeds with the clerk of court pursuant to subsection (2), the closing agent is discharged from any further liability or responsibility concerning the disputed reserved proceeds.
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