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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 by failing to deliver the property.

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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 by failing to deliver the property.

There is no statute of limitations for the imposition of a constructive trust. Instead, the doctrine of laches applies. See 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. See 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

Supreme Court: In re Estate of Tolin, 622 So.2d 988, 990-91 (Fla. 1993).

First District: Bank of Am. v. Bank of Salem, 48 So.3d 155, 158 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); Williams v. Dep’t of HRS, 522 So.2d 951, 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

Second District: Swope Rodante, P.A. v. Harmon, 85 So.3d 508, 511 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (stating that a constructive trust is an equitable remedy, not a cause of action).

Third District: Crawley-Kitzman v. Hernandez, 324 So. 3d 968, 976 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021); Silva v. de la Noval, 307 So. 3d 131, 134 (Fla. 3d DA 2020).

Fourth District: Silvas v. Silvas, 334 So. 3d 630, 632-33 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022); Maio v. Clarke, 255 So. 3d 369, 371 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018); Bergmann v. Slater, 922 So.2d 1110, 1112 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006).

Fifth District: Castetter v. Henderson, 113 So.3d 153, 155 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013).

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: Iksa Exim, Inc. v. Allouche, 2022 WL 457842, *2-3 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 18, 2022); Pharma Funding, LLC v. FLTX Holdings, LLC, No. 20-21103-CIV, 2021 WL 1166051, at *9 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 8, 2021); Temurian v. Piccolo, No. 18-CV-62737, 2019 WL 1763022, at *12 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2019).

Middle District: Lee v. Wiand, 603 B.R. 161, 175 (M.D. Fla. 2018); In re Lee, 574 B.R. 286, 293 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2017).

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2 Defenses to Claim for Trusts, Constructive Trust

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

(2) The doctrine of laches, and not the statute of limitations, applies to claims for constructive trust. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d)(discussed in § 56); Small Bus. Admin. v. Echevarria, 864 F. Supp. 1254, 1265 (S.D. Fla. 1994); Mootilal Rahmit & Sons Contracting, Ltd. v. Mohammed, No. 13–23432–CIV, 2014 WL 3439742, at*10 n.3 (S.D. Fla. 2014).

(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. G.W. Palmer & Co. v. Fla. Fresh Produce Corp., No. 217CV657FTM29MRM, 2019 WL 480501, at *5 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 7, 2019); Bank of Am. v. Bank of Salem, 48 So.3d 155, 158 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); 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, 1265 (S.D. Fla. 1994); U.S. v. Okonkwo, 2016 WL 6984273, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 29, 2016).

(5) Plaintiff cannot prove elements of claim by clear and convincing evidence. LB Judgment Holdings, LLC v. Boschetti, 271 So.3d 115, 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019); In re Migell, 569 B.R. 918, 924 & n.34 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2017); Abreu v. Amaro, 534 So.2d 771, 772 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).

(6) Plaintiff has an adequate remedy at law. Bender v. CenTrust Mortg. Corp., 51 F.3d 1027, 1030 (11th Cir. 1995), modified on other grounds, 60 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir. 1995); VM Glob. Partners, LLC v. Laxai Pharma, Ltd., No. 8:14–cv–01343–T–27EAJ, 2015 WL 1612009, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 9, 2015).

(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); Talisman Capital Alternative Invs. Fund, Ltd. v. Mouttet (In re Mouttet), 493 B.R. 640, 658 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2013).

(8) Presumption of equitable ownership arises where plaintiff paid all or a considerable portion of the purchase price. See Williams v. Dep’t of HRS, 522 So.2d 951, 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

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