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Sargent v. Baxter

Florida District Court of Appeal

673 So. 2d 979 (1996)

Facts

John Smith executed a quitclaim deed conveying his estate to his daughter, Connie Sargent (plaintiff). Smith executed the deed with the assistance of his attorney. Smith directed the attorney not to record the deed and informed the attorney that Smith would contact him again regarding the recording of the deed. A few weeks before Smith’s death, he asked his nephew to contact the attorney to have him record the deed. The nephew failed to contact the attorney and the deed remained unrecorded. Following Smith’s death, the attorney mailed the deed to Sargent. Upon receiving the deed, Sargent recorded it. Around the same time, the representative of Smith’s estate, Baxter (defendant), executed a quitclaim deed to Smith’s property and recorded it. Sargent filed an action in Florida state court against Baxter to quiet the title. The trial court found that the deed was not properly delivered to Sargent and, therefore did not have any legal effect. The trial court declared both deeds as void. The matter was appealed.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Stone, J.)

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