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1. The Plaintiff has title to the property,
2. A cloud exists, and
3. The plaintiff’s title is valid, and the cloud is invalid.

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1. The Plaintiff has title to the property,
2. A cloud exists, and
3. The plaintiff’s title is valid, and the cloud is invalid.

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FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Florida Supreme Court: Stark v. Frayer, 67 So. 2d 237, 239 (Fla. 1953).

Second District: Van Loan v. Heather Hills Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc., 216 So. 3d 18, 23-24 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016); Woodruff v. Taylor, 118 So. 2d 822, 822 (Fla. 2d DCA 1960).

Fourth District: D’Alessandro v. Fid. Fed. Bank & Tr., 154 So. 3d 498, 499 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).

Fifth District: Dep’t of Nat. Res. v. Ry. Mktg. Corp., 599 So. 2d 1346, 1349 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992).

FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS

Eleventh Circuit: Lane v. Guar. Bank, 552 F. App’x 934, 936 (11th Cir. 2014).

Southern District: A&A Wealth Mgmt., LLC v. Sec'y of Hous. & Urban Dev., No. 24-61033-CIV, 2025 WL 947638, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 28, 2025); Singhal v. Unison Agreement Corp., 2023 WL 2734230, *5 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 31, 2023); Rubinstein v. Keshet Inter Vivos Tr., 2019 WL 4739409, *8 (S.D. Fla. July 10, 2019); Dixon v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, 2019 WL 2866495, *13 (S.D. Fla. July 3, 2019).

Middle District: Kellyman v. Fairway Indep. Mortgage Co., No. 2:24-CV-287-JLB-KCD, 2025 WL 712752, at *4 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 5, 2025); Tippett v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2021 WL 3195829, *6 (M.D. Fla. June 4, 2021); MB Reo-FL Church-2, LLC v. Tampa for Christ Church, Inc., 2017 WL 8772159, *2 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 22, 2017); Dorta v. Wilmington Tr. Nat. Ass’n, 2014 WL 1152917, *3 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 24, 2014).

Northern District: Schooley v. Option One Mortg. Corp., 2022 WL 4803208, *5 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 7, 2022); Altier v. Fed. Nat. Mortg. Ass’n, 2013 WL 6388521, *3 (N.D. Fla. Dec. 6, 2013).
Florida Statutes: Chapter 65, Florida Statutes (Quieting Title).

Federal Rules: 28 U.S.C. § 2409a (Real property quiet title actions).

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2 Defenses to Claim for Quiet Title

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

(2) Statute of Limitations:

28 U.S.C.  § 2409a(g) (twelve years) for real property quiet title actions. Wilkins v. United States, 143 S. Ct. 870, 879 (2023).

§ 95.11(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (five years), mortgage cases. Bank of Am., N.A. v. Graybush, 253 So. 3d 1188, 1191 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018); Admiral Sec. & Inv. Co. v. Curtis, 804 So. 2d 354, 354 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

§ 95.11(3)(j), Fla. Stat. (four years), actions related to fraud. Harriott v. J.P Morgan Chase, 2013 WL 12383296, *1 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 28, 2013); Padron Warehouse Corp. v. Realty Assocs. Fund III, L.P., 377 F. Supp. 2d 1259, 1269 (S.D. Fla. 2005).

§ 95.12, Fla. Stat. (seven years), for recovery of real property. Harriott v. J.P Morgan Chase, 2013 WL 12383296, *1 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 28, 2013).

§ 95.231, Fla. Stat. (twenty years), Limitations where deed or will on record. Harriott v. J.P Morgan Chase, 2013 WL 12383296, *1 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 28, 2013); Rigby v. Liles, 505 So. 2d 598, 601 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987).

(3) The claimant must provide sufficient plausible allegations to maintain the quiet title claim. Ebsco Gulf Coast Dev., Inc. v. Salas, 2016 WL 11189984, *6 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 29, 2016); Stark v. Frayer, 67 So. 2d 237, 239 (Fla. 1953).

(4) The party seeking quiet tittle has the burden of proving the elements of the claim. Fitzgerald v. Regions Bank, 2013 WL 2371216, *3 (M.D. Fla. May 30, 2013); Lehrer v. Regions Bank, 2013 WL 2371192, *3 (M.D. Fla. May 30, 2013).

(5) To bring a claim under the Quiet Title Act, the party must prove that there is a problem “concerning the quality of title between the plaintiff and the United States.” Grames v. Sarasota Cnty., 2021 WL 82847, *3 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 11, 2021) (citing McMaster v. United States, 177 F.3d 936, 939 (11th Cir. 1999))(emphasis added).

(6) A person receiving property from an individual with mental health issues can claim quiet title if the property was obtained through the individual’s legal guardian. Grigg v. Gatt, 283 So. 2d 369, 370 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973).

(7) “As a general rule boundary line disputes should not be settled by equitable proceedings to quiet title.” Brown v. Semple, 204 So. 2d 229, 231 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967); Stark v. Frayer, 67 So. 2d 237, 239 (Fla. 1953)(emphasis added).

(8) The plaintiff must prove that the title to the property is in himself; otherwise, the court of equity will not have jurisdiction over the quiet title claim. Contreras v. Aurora Loan Servs. LLC, 2017 WL 2669893, *3 (S.D. Fla. June 21, 2017) (citation omitted); Beach Imp. Corp. v. Hall, 143 Fla. 778, 782 (Fla. 1940).

(9) A person cannot claim the quiet title if the property was adversely possessed by someone else at the time the tax deed was issued, and the suit started. Deas v. Turner, 56 So. 2d 337, 337 (Fla. 1952)

(10) When trying to use laches as a defense a party needs to know that “The rule in Florida is well settled that passage of time alone is insufficient to constitute laches. There must be some injury or prejudice to the defendant as well.” Niagara Fire Ins. Co. v. Allied Elec. Co., 319 So. 2d 594, 595 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Brown v. Semple, 204 So. 2d 229, 233 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)(emphasis added).

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