Florida Litigation Guide

Trusts, Constructive Trust –

[1] Elements and Case Citations

(1) Plaintiff and defendant share a confidential relationship through which;

(2) Defendant makes a promise, express or implied;

(3) To transfer property to the plaintiff and causing reliance thereon; and

(4) Defendant is unjustly enriched be failing to deliver the property.

There is no statute of limitations for the imposition of a constructive trust. Instead, the doctrine of laches applies.” Small Bus. Admin. v. Echevarria, 864 F. Supp. 1254, 1265 (S.D. Fla. 1994)(citing Ruff v. Lake Abstract Guar. Co., 101 B.R. 763 (Bankr.M.D.Fla.1989).); but see Grable v. Nunez, 64 So.2d 154, 159 (Fla. 1953)(“Constructive trusts are subject to statutes of limitation, and the period of limitation commences to run from the time when the trust came into being.”)(citations omitted); Collinson v. Miller, 903 So.2d 221, 229 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)(claim for constructive trust based on a breach of contract is four years from the time the cause of action accrues); Constructive or resulting trusts involving real estate can be based on parol evidence. See Stonely v. Moore, 851 So. 2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); Heirs to a decedent's assets don't need to prove a constructive trust in order maintain lis pendens. Von-Mitschke-Collande v. Kramer, 869 So. 2d 1246, 1251 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Before one can successfully impress a constructive trust, there must be an identifiable res on which the trust can be impressed. In re: Financial Federated Title and Trust, Inc., 347 F.3d 880, 891 (11th Cir. 2003).

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Florida State Courts

First District: Williams v. Dept. of HRS, 522 So. 2d 951, 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)

Second District: Browning v. Browning, 784 So. 2d 1145, 1147 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)

Third District: Saporta v. Saporta, 766 So.2d 379, 381 (Fla. 3^rd DCA 2000)

Fourth District: Bergmann v. Slater, 922 So. 2d 1110, 1112 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2006)

Florida Federal Courts

Eleventh Circuit: Bender v. Centrust Mortgage Corp., 51 F.3d 1027, 1029 (11th Cir. 1995), modified on other grounds, 60 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir. 1995)

Southern District: Garcia v. Santa Maria Resort, Inc., 528 F. Supp. 2d 1283, 1295 (S.D. Fla. 2007)

Middle District: In re Cameron, 359 B.R. 818, 822 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2006)

Northern District: ITT Community Dev. Corp. v. Barton, 457 F. Supp. 224, 230 (M.D. Fla. 1978)

[2] Defenses to Claim for Constructive Trust

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 60.

(2) The doctrine of laches. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d)(discussed in § 56), and not the statute of limitations, applies to claims for constructive trust. See Small Bus. Admin. v. Echevarria, 864 F. Supp. 1254, 1260 (S.D. Fla. 1994).

(3) A constructive trust may only be imposed on specific or identifiable property or property which can be clearly traced in assets of the defendant. See Small Bus. Admin. v. Echevarria, 864 F. Supp. 1254, 1265 (S.D. Fla. 1994).

(4) A constructive trust may be imposed only on clearly traced assets. See Small Bus. Admin. v. Echevarria, 864 F. Supp. 1254, 1266 (S.D. Fla. 1994).

(5) Plaintiff cannot prove elements of claim by clear and convincing evidence. See Abreu v. Amaro, 534 So. 2d 771, 772 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).

(6) Plaintiff has an adequate remedy at law. See Bender v. CenTrust Mortg. Corp., 51 F.3d 1027, 1030 (11th Cir. 1995), modified on other grounds, 60 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir. 1995).

(7) A constructive trust cannot be imposed simply to preserve assets to satisfy a potential money judgment or for mere failure to pay a debt. See Bender v. CenTrust Mortg. Corp., 51 F.3d 1027, 1030 (11th Cir. 1995), modified on other grounds, 60 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir. 1995).

(8) Presumption of equitable ownership arises where plaintiff paid all or a considerable portion of the purchase price. Williams v. Dept. of HRS, 522 So. 2d 951, 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).