Changes in Foreclosure and Eviction Moratoriums

Hot off the presses! Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-180 last night. While most news organizations are focusing on the extension of the foreclosure and eviction moratoriums until September 1st, servicers and investors should note that the language covering which cases are affected by the moratorium, and at what stage, has changed dramatically. While the initial executive order, EO 20-94, suspended and tolled "any statute providing for a mortgage foreclosure cause of action," the new Order has revised that language to state that the order suspends and tolls "any statute providing for final action at the conclusion of a mortgage foreclosure proceeding." The moratorium was further limited to cases were the proceeding arose from non-payment of a mortgage by a single-family mortgagor.

My interpretation is that the new executive order prohibits only the pursuit of writs of possession on mortgagor-occupied properties. The language in the Order reminds me of this quote in Ober v. Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, 218 So. 3d 952, 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017): “In a foreclosure lawsuit, the final judgment is not the end of the road, but merely a way station to the final result.”