City of Palm Bay v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court held that a Palm Bay ordinance granting municipal code-enforcement liens priority over previously recorded mortgages was invalid because it conflicted with Florida’s statutory scheme governing lien priority. The court concluded that municipal home-rule powers do not authorize a municipality to create exceptions to or override controlling state law and answered the certified question in the negative.

Holdings

1. A municipality may not enact an ordinance granting its code-enforcement liens priority over prior recorded mortgages when that priority conflicts with Florida's statutory scheme governing the priority of interests in real property.
2. The Legislature's creation of exceptions to a statutory scheme does not authorize municipalities to create their own exceptions to that scheme.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Article VIII, section 2(b), of the Florida Constitution and sections 166.021 and 162.09, Florida Statutes, authorize a municipality to enact an ordinance granting code-enforcement liens superpriority over prior recorded mortgages.
2. Whether Palm Bay's ordinance superpriority provision is invalid because it conflicts with Florida's statutory scheme governing the priority of interests in real property.

Disposition

approved