Palm Beach Creditor Fails to Get Offshore Shares of Stock
Are you involved in a Palm Beach lawsuit where you are chasing money? Perhaps you won a judgment after a Palm Beach trial and the Palm Beach lawsuit gave you damages—now you have to get paid, right? So, you conduct Florida proceedings supplementary to try to satisfy your final judgment. You want to discover where the money is so you can be paid, right? If you are a creditor or one who is involved in a lawsuit where you expect to get damages from the Palm Beach trial, you may want to read this March 5, 2014 opinion of the Palm Beach appeals court. Can someone keep money offshore and keep it from creditors ?
Where’s the Money?
Can a Palm Beach trial judge order a debtor to turn over foreign stock certificates? Evidently not.
Appeals Court Says Palm Beach Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Foreign Stock
The appeals court for all Palm Beach lawsuits is the 4th District Court of Appeal, located on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, in West Palm Beach.
On March 5th, they issued an order which reversed a Palm Beach County circuit judge who ordered that a debtor turn over stock certificates of an offshore company.
The appeals court reversed: saying the Palm Beach Circuit Court did not have authority to order the debtors to turn over the foreigtn stock certificates.
Questions About Palm Beach Jurisdiction
But I thought that a Palm Beach Court had jurisdiction over a defendant and could command the defendant to do certain things: like turn over stock certificates.
I thought that stock certificates were deemed to be located where the owner of the shares resided, like most other intangible property.
Q: What does this mean for Palm Beach probate litigation and estate executors and beneficiaries who are involved in a Palm Beach probate lawsuit?
A: If damages are granted after a probate trial, and the defendant or a debtor has offshore assets, you need to read this Palm Beach appeals court opinion.
Here is Palm Beach’s 4th District Court of Appeal’s legal opinion if you would like to read it: http://4dca.org/opinions/Mar%202014/03-05-14/4D13-1447.op.pdf