Source: https://www.carltonfields.com/team/s/christopher-smart?refindustry=5540b7d3-4880-4757-bb78-eae98adb5810
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 20:19:34+00:00

Document:
Chris Smart tries real estate, title insurance, and consumer finance cases. His clients are national title insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and real estate owners, developers, and investors.
For the last 16 years Chris has handled high-profile litigation involving title insurance coverage, closing protection letter claims, title agent defalcations, and insurance bad faith claims. He has tried lender liability, consumer protection, loan servicing, and mortgage foreclosure cases and defended real property developers.
His trials have also included litigation over condominium developments, restrictive covenants, easements, and Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act. In one recent example, Chris led a team defending a real estate developer in a five-day trial, securing our client’s right to develop and maintain a high-end condominium, hotel, and marina project, and decisively defeating the claims of two adjacent condominium associations.
As a complement to his substantial trial experience, Chris also has a comprehensive understanding of the real estate industry and title to real property, and has served as an expert on Florida real property law. Throughout his career, he has been a leader on the issues that matter to his clients and the real estate industry in Florida. He is the longtime chair of the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar’s Title Issues and Standards Committee. This Committee reviews, revises, maintains, and promotes Florida’s Uniform Title Standards, an essential guide for real estate practitioners navigating difficult questions about marketability of title. In this role, he also works with the Committee and the Section to promote legislation necessary for or helpful to Florida’s real estate industry. Chris is a regular presenter at the bi-annual American Land Title Association’s Title Counsel Committee meetings, contributes articles to ALTA’s TitleNews, and has, for the last decade, presented the annual case law update to the Florida Land Title Association’s Claims Prevention, Avoidance Committee’s Annual Round Table.
Jordan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 2015-CA-8870 (Fla. 13th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. Feb. 1, 2019). Order dismissing plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice and finding that the tortious interference claims were barred by the statute of limitations and because a servicer cannot tortuously interfere with the lender’s mortgage loan, except in limited circumstances not alleged, and that plaintiffs’ Equal Credit Opportunity Act violation claims failed because they failed to allege they were members of a protected class. Read Order.
Carson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 8:10-CV-2326 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 24, 2018). Order dismissing plaintiff’s TILA and RESPA claims with prejudice on finding of res judicata (both claim and issue preclusion). Read Order.
Nashagh v. Hillsborough Bd. Of County Commissioners, Case No. 2D16-5106 (per curiam affirmed). Affirming Order granting with prejudice motion to dismiss complaint seeking to block development of real property via injunctive and declaratory relief. Read Order.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Melendez, Case No. 2012-CA-006155 (Fla. 10th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. Nov. 13, 2017). Uniform Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered after trial. Read Order.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Abner, Case No. 2013-CA-001207 (Fla. 12th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. Sept. 7, 2017). Findings of fact and conclusions of law entered after bench trial and prior to a judgment of foreclosure being entered. Read Order.
The Jockey Club Condo. Apts., Inc., v. Apeiron Miami, LLC, Case No. 16-5957 CA 40 (Fla. 11th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. July 5, 2017). Final order granting developer’s motion for rehearing, removing tennis courts from easement area, and suspending remaining common area easement during developer’s maintenance, operation and development of its property. Read Order.
The Jockey Club Condo. Apts., Inc., v. Apeiron Miami, LLC, Case No. 16-5957 CA 40 (Fla. 11th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. May 26, 2017). Final order entered after a five-day bench trial ruling that recorded instruments relied on by plaintiffs to block our developer client from developing and even assuming maintenance of its own property are either barred by MRTA or do not preclude future development and do not preclude the developer from assuming maintenance. Read Order.
U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Adams, No. 2D15-4202, __ So. 3d __ (Fla. 2d DCA May 12, 2017) (reversing summary judgment and denial of motion for rehearing on appeal). Section 559.715 does not create a condition precedent to foreclosure action. Read Opinion.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Carson, Case No. 53-2008-CA-009216 (Fla. 10th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct., May 11, 2017). Final judgment in favor of lender on mortgage foreclosure and borrower’s TILA defenses after two day bench trial. Read order.
The Jockey Club Condo. Apts v. Apeiron Miami, LLC and Jockey Club III Assoc., Case No. 16-5957 CA 40 (Fla. 11th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. February 4, 2017). Order granting summary judgment based on MRTA and extinguishing a restrictive covenant entered into prior to root of title and belatedly recorded after root of title. Read Opinion. Order granting summary judgment on restrictive covenant recorded without specific legal description of property. Read Opinion. Order granting summary judgment on claim to easements by prescription. Read Opinion.
Swan Landing Development, LLC v. Stewart Title Guaranty Company, Case No. 2D15-210 (Fla. 2d DCA March 23, 2016). PCA affirming final judgment after trial denying plaintiff’s claims for reformation of a release based on alleged mutual mistake and for a declaration that the release does not apply to multi-million dollar claims asserted against our client. Read Opinion.
Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. One West Bank, F.S.B, et al., Case No. 10-CA-18323 (Fla. 9th Judicial Cir., Cir. Ct. April 10, 2015). Order granting Summary Judgment and Entering Final Judgment determining that a purported title insurance policy determined not to have been issued by the title insurance issuing agent is void. Read Order.
“Annual Title Insurance Case Law Update: 2013-2014,” Florida Land Title Association Claims Roundtable Presentation (April 23, 2014).

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