Section
713.24 transfer bonds are used as a means of removing a
recorded Claim of Lien from a property, clearing the title
to the property, while still providing the lienor with adequate
security for the claimed debt. Lien transfer bonds are used
when section 713.23 payment bonds or section 713.245 conditional
payment bonds were not provided by the contractor. A section
713.24 transfer bond is obtained by either depositing money
with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, or recording in the
Clerk’s office a transfer bond issued by a surety
licensed to conduct business in the State of Florida, in
the sum of the total amount stated in the Claim of Lien,
plus interest on that amount at the current statutory rate
of interest for three (3) years, plus the greater of $1,000.00
or twenty-five percent (25%) of the total amount stated
in the Claim of Lien.
Upon the deposit of the requisite sum of money or the posting
of an appropriate transfer bond, the Clerk of the Circuit
Court shall make and record a certificate showing the transfer
of the Claim of Lien to the alternate form of security and
shall serve a copy of the certificate on the lienor by certified
or registered mail to the address of the lienor stated in
the Claim of Lien.
Section 713.24 transfer bonds do not have any other notice
requirements as they are obtained only after a Claim of
Lien has been recorded.
Since section 713.24 transfer bonds arise only after a Claim
of Lien has been recorded, the lawsuit on the bond must
be filed within the same deadlines as are applicable to
the foreclosure of the Claim of Lien, i.e., within one year
from the date of recording the Claim of Lien. Often, transfer
bonds are obtained after the lien foreclosure lawsuit has
been filed, thereby, requiring only that the surety be substituted
for the owner as a party to the lawsuit.
Any party claiming an interest in the section 713.24 transfer
bond, or in the real property from which the Claim of Lien
was transferred, may at any time, and any number of times,
file a complaint in the circuit court of the county where
the funds are deposited or the transfer bond is recorded,
to seek an order of the court requiring additional security,
reducing the amount of security, changing or substituting
the surety on the transfer bond, compelling payment or discharge
of the security, or any other matter relating to the security.
If a lawsuit is already pending seeking to impose a claim
upon the section 713.24 transfer bond, the request can be
made in the form of a motion filed in the pending lawsuit.
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