Bernhard Law Firm won a preliminary injunction freezing bank accounts of a South Florida recording business holding nearly half a million in escrowed recording fees. If you have any questions about freezing bank accounts at the onset of litigation through preliminary injunction, please contact Bernhard Law Firm at www.bernhardlawfirm.com, 786-871-3349, abernhard@bernhardlawfirm.com.

As gleaned from the pleadings, the Defendant provided document recording services in the Official Records of counties throughout Florida. If a customer needed a deed or mortgage recorded, it sent the recording fees to Defendant’s trust account via ACH or wire transfer, scanned the documents to Defendant, and Defendant disbursed the trust money to the County to have the document recorded. Defendant then emailed the recorded document to the customer.

Bernhard Law Firm’s client was a Miami real estate law firm and Defendant’s customer, who transferred six figures of escrowed funds to Defendant’s trust on behalf of 18 clients, to have the clients’ deeds and mortgages recorded.

Defendant’s owner died and apparently left no succession or operations plan for Defendant. Defendant did not record the documents and all clients’ escrowed funds were purportedly sitting in trust in Defendant’s trust accounts–or so relatives represented. After the clients had repeatedly sought return of the escrowed trust funds, to no avail, they hired Bernhard Law Firm. 

Bernhard Law Firm successfully argued that clients’ escrowed funds must be returned to so that their mortgages/deeds and real estate priority interests protected, per the title insurance underwriter title commitments.

As shown in Bernhard Law Firm’s memoranda, ample Florida law provides that the Court can freeze a trust account to protect escrowed trust funds, order the bank to immediately return the funds, or set up a constructive trust in the Court’s Registry. Gyptec, S.A. v. Hakim-Daccach, 299 So. 3d 481, 484–85 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020) (affirming injunction directing company to transfer money back to escrow account and enjoining further transfers out of account pending final determination of ownership interest). The Court agreed and issued preliminary injunction. If you have any questions about freezing bank accounts at the onset of litigation through preliminary injunction, please contact Bernhard Law Firm at www.bernhardlawfirm.com, 786-871-3349, abernhard@bernhardlawfirm.com.