PLEDGER TRUST SERIES 28, LLC v. APEIRON HOLDINGS MIAMI, LLC, Etc.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledAugust 19, 2020
Docket3D20-0207
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed August 19, 2020.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D20-207
Lower Tribunal No. 19-30442
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Pledger Trust Series 28, LLC,
Appellant,
vs.
Apeiron Holdings Miami, LLC, et al.,
Appellees.
An Appeal from a non-final order from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade
County, William Thomas, Judge.
Cahen Law, P.A., and Geoffrey M. Cahen (Boca Raton), for appellant.
Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A., Jason S.
Koslowe, David T. Coulter, and Olivia Sanchez, for appellees.
Before FERNANDEZ, SCALES, and LOBREE, JJ.
FERNANDEZ, J.
Non-party/appellant Pledger Trust Series 28, LLC, (“Pledger”) appeals the
trial court’s order granting defendant/appellee Apeiron Holdings Miami, LLC’s
(“Apeiron”) Verified Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Pledger challenges the
merits of the temporary injunction, as well as the trial court’s lack of a bond. We
find no reversible error on the issuance of the temporary injunction and affirm that
part of the trial court’s order. Vargas v. Vargas, 771 So. 2d 594, 595-96 (Fla. 3d
DCA 2000). However, for the reasons discussed below, we agreed with Pledger that
the trial court erred in not requiring Apeiron to post a bond.
Pledger contends that Florida law requires an injunction bond sufficient to
protect the adverse party against those “costs and damages sustained by the adverse
party if the adverse party is wrongfully enjoined.” See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.610(b);
Parker Tampa Two, Inc. v. Somerset Dev. Corp., 544 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 1989)
(limiting recoverable damages for wrongful injunction to the amount of the
injunction bond). In Parker, the Florida Supreme Court limited recoverable damages
for a wrongful injunction to the amount of the injunction bond. Parker, 544 So. 2d
at 1019. Thus, if any damages are incurred by the party against whom an injunction
is issued, if it is later determined that such an injunction was wrongfully issued, the
damages recoverable for wrongfully obtaining the injunction are limited to the
amount of the injunction bond. The trial court was required to conduct an evidentiary
hearing to afford appellants the opportunity to present their evidence as to the
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amount of an appropriate bond. Offshore Marine Towing, Inc. v. Sea Tow Servs.
Int'l, Inc., 778 So. 2d 510, 511 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). However, Pledger was not
given an opportunity to present evidence on the amount of the bond. Consequently,
if it is later determined that Apeiron’s injunction was wrongfully obtained, Pledger
would not be able to collect any damages because the trial court did not require
Apeiron to post a bond.
Accordingly, for these reasons, we affirm the order on appeal with respect to
the trial court’s issuance of the temporary injunction but reverse the order as to the
failure of the trial court to require a bond and remand to the trial court with directions
to conduct an evidentiary hearing to set an appropriate bond.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with instructions.
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