Sutton v. Wilmington Trust, N.A.
After the parties both moved to postpone a foreclosure sale to finalize refinancing (following the death of the borrower's husband), no hearing occurred before the holiday weekend and the sale proceeded to a third-party bidder. The trial court denied the borrower's motion to vacate because she showed no fraud or irregularity in the conduct of the sale. The Third District reversed, holding that under Arsali v. Chase Home Finance a court may set aside a judicial sale on any adequately pled equitable ground, including mistake, and remanded for consideration of the equitable grounds alleged.
Key facts
- Borrower sought to vacate a judicial foreclosure sale after both parties had moved to postpone the sale to allow time for refinancing following the borrower's husband's death, but the sale proceeded to a third-party bidder over the holiday weekend without a hearing.
- The trial court denied the borrower's motion to vacate the foreclosure sale, finding she had not demonstrated fraud, irregularity in the conduct of the sale, or gross inadequacy of the bid price.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
Practitioners moving to vacate foreclosure sales can cite this decision—aligning the Third District with the Second and Fifth Districts (Gavidia, Josecite)—to defeat the common trial-court reflex that only fraud, sale… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.