March  25, 2010…On the basis arguments contained in a jurisdictional brief filed by Hargrove Pierson & Brown P.A., the Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hear the matter of Delta Property Management v. Profile Investments, Case No. SC09-2075.  The matter arose after the firm’s client, Delta, lost its property in a tax sale.  The forfeiture resulted from  notice of the tax sale being mailed by the clerk of Duvall County, Florida, to an old and outdated address.  Although Delta submitted the change of address to Duvall County well in advance of the sale notic,  the change was not posted in a timely manner.  The misdirected notice was eventually returned to the sender marked “undelivered” but the clerk’s office did nothing to correct the error.  The property was consequently sold at the Sheriff’s tax forfeiture to Profile. Delta’s brief on the merits of the case is due to be filed by April 19th.  The case’s progress will be followed on this post.

February 10, 2010…A Florida Circuit Court jury in West Palm Beach has awarded punitive damages to a 79 year old senior citizen from Boca Raton in connection with her puchase of equity indexed annuities.  Shortly after Joyce Pogoda’s husband died in April of 2006, Rafael Golan of Delray Beach convinced Ms. Pogoda to cash in existing annuities and repurchase new equity indexed annuities which paid him a significant commission.  Under the terms of the new annuity contracts Ms. Pogoda would have been subject to penalties by accessing her funds prior to the expiration of a twelve year deferral period.  Ms. Pogoda’s counsel, Cristina Pierson of the Boca Raton firm of Hargrove Pierson & Brown, said that the case is very significant for Florida’s senior population in that it is the first time a jury has been presented with the protections afforded seniors under Florida Statutes Chapter 415 which provides civil remedies, including punitive awards, for vulnerable adults who have been financially exploited.

Please view the full article here: Jury awards $272,000 to Delray Beach widow

January 20, 2010…Delta Property Management, Inc., represented by Hargrove Pierson & Brown, has filed a jurisdictional brief in the Florida Supreme Court challenging an appellate court ruling which refused to apply recent precedent both of the United States Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court regarding due process safeguards relating to tax sales of real property.   Both courts have held that when an owner is in danger of  forfeiting property for non-payment of real property taxes, and notice of the tax sale is returned to the county clerk “undelivered,” the clerk must take reasonable steps if practicable to locate the owner.  The decision of the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee determined that the latest rulings of the higher courts did not serve as binding precedent as the facts giving rise to the case before it predated the new precedent.  The forfeiture occurred in Duval County. 

The jurisdictional brief can be accessed online at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2009/2001-2200/09-2075_JurisIni_ada.pdf.