Archive: May 2020

Clarifying the Florida Supreme Court’s March Administrative Order suspending the requirement for clerks to issue writs of possession, in April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order suspending evictions and foreclosures for 45 days (from April 2) due to the coronavirus pandemic. While landlords have been sending out eviction notices at this time, they will only be executed once the moratoriums are lifted. It is also important for tenants to note that they are still contractually obligated to pay any back rent owed; usually within five days.

Still, there appears to be confusion as to whether DeSantis’ Order only applies to residential tenants or both commercial and residential tenants. The Order specifically suspends and tolls any statute providing for:

Indicating that the order does not apply to commercial tenants.

Commercial Landlords May Still Be in Need of Creative Options If Tenants Are Having Difficulties at This Time

The coronavirus has brought a whole new type of family law dispute into relevance when it comes to custody issues. A number of doctors, first responders, and other healthcare workers here in Florida have found themselves subject to emergency court orders, whereby they can very quickly lose shared custody of their children simply due to their profession until the pandemic is over.

Take one doctor in South Florida who was the subject of an NBC Miami story and whose child’s father requested and received an emergency order granting him sole custody entirely related to the COVID-19 outbreak even though she tested negative for the coronavirus because the judge deemed that it was necessary to “protect the best interests of the minor child,” including the child’s “safety and welfare.” While that same doctor was able to successfully appeal the emergency order, winning a return to their 50-50 shared custody arrangement while they await a final ruling, she and many others who are divorced parents are either in constant panic or busy fighting these orders, suffering through disrupted lives while they try to help those battling the virus during their workday and custody rights during their personal time.

Everyone around the world is feeling the impacts of the coronavirus, whether you are looking at business closures, working remotely from home, children’s schools closing, hospitals, or a number of other everyday regular fixtures in our lives. However, no one was really prepared for the virus to affect family law issues, such as divorce and parenting plans. A number of schools here in Florida closed and are not going back for the rest of the academic year, while others are closed until at least April 15.  As a result, most parents found themselves staying at home for coronavirus seclusion with their kids during the first few days of the lockdown, and then perhaps transitioning the kids to the other parent as part of their time sharing plans.

Yet because there is no “pandemic clause” in a divorce agreement, a number of parents are also now experiencing severe anxiety when it comes to these custody issues and the regularly-scheduled transitions between parents. While their parenting plans may cover ‘normal’ days, they, by no means, cover what is happening at the moment with the coronavirus. In fact, in some states, it has become such an issue that some state Supreme Courts have had to weigh in and dictate that divorced couples follow originally published school schedules.

Commercial eviction proceedings have been complicated by the coronavirus, as more and more cities and states pass emergency laws barring evictions of tenants, as well as foreclosures, in some instances, all while landlords are still expected to finance mortgages and satisfy their lenders. This includes Florida, where, in late March, the state Supreme Court issued an administrative order that will affect evictions and foreclosures.

As a result, it is important for landlords to review their leases with commercial landlord attorneys in order to ensure that they understand their rights and are prepared in terms of how any new laws and court decisions have altered those rights. Landlord attorneys can also assist landlords in coming up with creative solutions by agreement, such as partial base rent abatement and/or a repayment schedule, for example, and in researching other options, such as finding out if certain commercial tenants have business interruption insurance policies that can provide coverage during this time. At the same time, landlords will of course also have to consider obligations to their lenders and the effects any lease modifications they enter into will have on their loan covenants, and commercial landlord attorneys can review loan documents so that they are aware of the requirements and what is they need to do in order to ensure that they are in compliance.