Vanessa Van Vorgue v. Mara M. Rankin (SC08-2255)

SUMMARY: 7-0 decision. The Court reversed the 3rd DCA's order of disbursement of escrow funds under injunctive relief principles when there was a clear escrow agreement between the parties. Furthermore, the trial court's refusal to disburse escrow funds to one of the parties was not an injunction because it was not restricting the use of funds (the disputed funds were already restricted pursuant to an independent escrow agreement between the parties).

It is entirely settled by a long and unbroken line of Florida cases that in an action at law for money damages, there is simply no judicial authority for an order requiring the deposit of the amount in controversy into the registry of the court or indeed for any restraint upon the use of a defendant’s unrestricted assets prior to the entry of judgment. In contrast, the trial court’s order denying the release of funds in Rankin was not in the nature of an injunction because it did not restrict previously unrestricted funds.

Here, unlike in the three cases relied on by the Third District, the funds were restricted funds, already being held in escrow by a third party by agreement of the parties. Because the disputed funds were held pursuant to the terms of an escrow agreement created to facilitate a sale and protect the parties’ interests by holding the funds while disputes were pending, the Third District erred by relying on injunctive principles of law that apply when there are no such escrow agreements.