MIAMI—Over the last few days, we've been reviewing some of the top real estate cases of 2014. Manny Farach, an attorney with the West Palm Beach office of law firm Richman Greer and a board-certified in Real Estate Law and Business Litigation, served up 5 Real Estate Law Cases You Should Remember and 3 Land Use Legal Battles Worth Noting.

But there's also cases of which brokers and registered agents should be aware. Two real estate broker decisions also made Farach's list.

“First, the Third District held that the Florida Lien Act, which entitles a broker to a lien on the net proceeds of a commercial transaction for their commission, is not the only method by which a broker may attempt to collect their commission,” Farach tells GlobeSt.com. “If permitted by contract or law, a broker may also lien the real property itself. This is a huge decision not only for brokers, but also for closing attorneys, title companies and settlement agents who now have to contend with the question of whether a commercial broker has 'liened the dirt' just before closing and created title questions as a result.” (J. Milton Dadeland, LLC v. Abala, Inc., 145 So. 3d 175, Fla. 3d DCA 2014.)

Farach also offers a cautionary tale for brokers. The First District Court of Appeal held that a brokerage commission agreement without a time frame is not a “brokerage in perpetuity,” and a broker is not entitled to a commission as the procuring cause of a sale when the broker abandons the commission agreement, such as stopping marketing and attempting to sell the property and stops communicating with the seller, three years before the eventual sale. “The take-away for brokers,” he says, “stay in contact with your clients.”

“Finally, just a reminder that there are strict requirements for registered agents, and that service of process on a corporation's officers or employees is not valid if there has not been compliance with Florida Statute § 48.091 regarding attempts to first serve the corporation's registered agent during the statutorily required times,” Farach says. “Those Florida attorneys who serve as registered agents for their client's corporations should review this decision to make sure they are in compliance with their registered agent requirements.” (Empire Beauty Salon v. Commercial Loan Solutions IV, LLC, --- So. 3d ----, 2014 WL 5877947, Fla. 5th DCA 2014).