SE Property Holdings, LLC v. Neverve LLC

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · April 11, 2023 · No. 21-11736

Summary

**Key Legal Topics:** Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (FUFTA) remedies; catch-all provision (Fla. Stat. § 726.108(1)(c)3.); money damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees against a transferor; equitable lien. **Holding:** The Eleventh Circuit held that FUFTA's catch-all provision does not permit a creditor to recover money damages, punitive damages, or attorney's fees from a fraudulent transferor. The court also affirmed summary judgment on an equitable lien claim because the debtor no longer possessed the transferred assets. The decision interprets FUFTA narrowly, following the Florida Supreme Court's reasoning in *Freeman v. First Union National Bank*.

Holdings

  1. FUFTA's catch-all provision does not allow for an award of money damages against the transferor.
  2. FUFTA does not allow for an award of punitive damages against the transferor.
  3. FUFTA does not allow for an award of attorney's fees against the transferor.
  4. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment on the equitable lien claim because Neverve was not in possession of the BP proceeds, and SEPH waived any argument for equitable relief under FUFTA by not raising it below.

Questions Presented

  1. Whether FUFTA's catch-all provision, Fla. Stat. § 726.108(1)(c)3., allows a creditor to recover money damages against the transferor of a fraudulent transfer.
  2. Whether FUFTA allows a creditor to recover punitive damages against the transferor.
  3. Whether FUFTA allows a creditor to recover attorney's fees against the transferor.
  4. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment on SEPH's equitable lien claim.

Disposition

affirmed

Cases Cited (20)

  • Freeman v. First Union National Bank, 865 So. 2d 1272 (Fla. 2004)(followed)
  • Hansard Constr. Corp. v. Rite Aid of Fla., Inc., 783 So. 2d 307 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001)(distinguished)
  • McCalla v. E.C. Kenyon Constr. Co., 183 So. 3d 1192 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2016)(distinguished)
  • Edwards v. Airline Support Grp., Inc., 138 So. 3d 1209 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2014)(cited)
  • Young v. Progressive Se. Ins. Co., 753 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 2000)(cited)
  • Bishop v. Osborn Transp., Inc., 838 F.2d 1173 (11th Cir. 1998)(cited)
  • Alliant Tax Credit 31, Inc v. Murphy, 924 F.3d 1134 (11th Cir. 2019)(distinguished)
  • Ault v. Lohr, 538 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1989)(cited)
  • Price v. Tyler, 890 So. 2d 246 (Fla. 2004)(cited)
  • Sarkis v. Allstate Ins. Co., 863 So. 2d 210 (Fla. 2003)(cited)

Showing top 10 of 20.

Cited In (0)

No citing cases on record yet.

Download CaseDownload Case DataDownload Case and DataDownload AI Instructions

Court Document

Open PDF
Loading document…

More from Eleventh Circuit