Court Opinion

ID: 9963047
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-24 15:04:16.067081+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:24:39.175201
License: Public Domain

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
                              FOURTH DISTRICT

                             ALISHA L. PRICE,
                                 Appellant,

                                      v.

                            REZA TORKAMAN,
                                Appellee.

                             No. 4D2023-1872

                               [April 24, 2024]

  Appeal from the County Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St.
Lucie County; Edmond Alonzo, Judge; L.T. Case No. 2023CC002019.

   Alisha L. Price, Fort Pierce, pro se.

   No appearance for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

    Tenant appeals the trial court’s final judgment of eviction. After Tenant
failed to make a required monthly payment, Landlord issued a notice
invoking the provisions of section 83.56(3), Florida Statutes (2023),
informing Tenant of the lease termination due to non-payment. The notice
provided a three-day period for Tenant to settle the outstanding rent. After
Tenant failed to settle the outstanding rent, Landlord filed a complaint
seeking to evict Tenant.

   Three days after service of the summons and complaint, Tenant
composed a handwritten letter articulating her reasons for withholding
rent. The following day, Tenant deposited the total rent amount and court
fees into the court registry. One hour later, the court entered a final
judgment of eviction and order to disburse the funds held in the court
registry.

    The controlling statute allows a tenant to assert defenses to an eviction
action and, if defenses are asserted, requires the tenant to pay the amount
of rent at issue into the registry of the court. § 83.60(2), Fla. Stat. (2023).
In this case, Tenant timely filed the defenses and deposited the funds into
the registry of the court. Yet the court entered final judgment without
affording Tenant an opportunity to present those defenses, and thus erred.
On remand, the court must afford Tenant that opportunity.

   Reversed and remanded.

LEVINE, KUNTZ and ARTAU, JJ., concur.

                           *        *        *

    Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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