In short: In Barnsdale Holdings v. PHH Mortgage (2015), a company bought the property out of the borrower’s bankruptcy years after the lis pendens and joined the case as an ‘unknown party’ instead of moving to intervene. The Third District affirmed the foreclosure judgment; a concurring judge said the 30-day intervention rule controls and urged sanctions.
The Facts
PHH Mortgage Corporation filed a Miami-Dade foreclosure and recorded a lis pendens. Long after that, Barnsdale Holdings, LLC bought the property out of the borrower’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The facts in this paragraph and the next come from the arguments as described in the oral argument; the court’s majority wrote no opinion.
According to the argument, Barnsdale never moved to intervene under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.230. Instead it appeared as one of the “unknown parties” named in the complaint, moved to dismiss and served discovery. PHH later had Barnsdale’s papers stricken at a hearing Barnsdale says it was not told about, and took a final judgment. On appeal Barnsdale argued that the complaint’s unknown-party language made it a party, that PHH had acquiesced by litigating with it, that striking its pleadings without notice denied due process, and that a bankruptcy-related stay order had never been lifted.
Judge Shepherd’s concurring opinion described the core problem: Barnsdale acquired its interest after the lis pendens and never sought leave to intervene.
The Decision
On July 15, 2015, the Third District affirmed per curiam. The majority wrote nothing, so the affirmance is not precedent; what it left standing was the final judgment of foreclosure for PHH, entered after Barnsdale’s pleadings were stricken.
Judge Shepherd concurred separately. He explained that someone who takes an interest after a lis pendens is recorded is a stranger to the case and must move to intervene within 30 days or be barred, and that the unknown-party label reaches only those who had or claimed an interest when the suit was filed. Allowing later buyers in that way, he wrote, would make the intervention requirement meaningless. He would have required the company’s appellate lawyer to show cause why sanctions under section 57.105(1)(b) should not be imposed for a frivolous appeal. The other judges did not join that part, so no sanctions were ordered.
The Law
Under section 48.23(1)(d), once a lis pendens is recorded, a person who later acquires an interest in the property, or who holds an unrecorded interest, is bound by the outcome and cannot enforce that interest against the property unless they move to intervene within 30 days after the recording and the court grants the motion. Intervention itself is governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.230, which lets the court allow a person with an interest to join, but in subordination to the main proceeding.
Constructive service on unknown parties, under section 49.08 and related sections, is meant to reach people who already had or claimed an interest when the suit was filed. A buyer out of bankruptcy also takes subject to whatever the bankruptcy court did or did not order about the foreclosure. Florida’s fee-sanction statute, section 57.105(1)(b), allows fees against a party and its lawyer for claims or appeals not supported by the facts or existing law.
Current law (2026): Section 48.23(1)(d), Fla. Stat. (2026), still requires holders of interests acquired after (or unrecorded at) the recording of a lis pendens to move to intervene within 30 days after recording. Section 49.08 (notice of action contents) remains in force.
Lessons
- If you buy property with a pending foreclosure, including from a bankruptcy trustee, check for a lis pendens and file a motion to intervene within 30 days of its recording, or as soon as possible.
- Appearing as an “unknown party” is not a substitute for a granted motion to intervene; without it you may not be entitled to notice of hearings.
- Do not count on a bankruptcy stay to protect a post-petition buyer; get a clear order from the bankruptcy court.
- Weak appeals can draw sanctions under section 57.105, even when the majority declines to impose them.
Source: Barnsdale Holdings, LLC v. PHH Mortgage Corp., No. 3D14-837 — Fla. 3d DCA (July 15, 2015).
Watch the Oral Argument
This is the recording of the actual oral argument, posted on the channel. What lawyers and judges say at argument is not the ruling; the decision is summarized above.
Buyer Joins Foreclosure as “Unknown Party” — Owed Notice? | Barnsdale v. Emberson, 3D14-0837
Go Deeper
- Served With a Foreclosure Lawsuit in Florida? The 20-Day Answer and the Lis Pendens
- Can Bankruptcy Stop a Foreclosure in Florida? Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and the Automatic Stay
- How Appeals Work in Florida: The 30-Day Deadline, Costs, and What a PCA Means
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I buy a house with a lis pendens on it in Florida?
You take it subject to the pending lawsuit. Under section 48.23, a buyer after the lis pendens is bound by the outcome and must move to intervene within 30 days of the recording to protect any interest. If the foreclosure goes to sale, your interest can be wiped out.
Can a buyer join a foreclosure as an unknown defendant in Florida?
Generally no, if the buyer acquired its interest after the lis pendens. In Barnsdale, a concurring judge explained that the unknown-party designation covers people who had or claimed an interest when the case was filed. A later buyer has to move to intervene under Rule 1.230.
Is a post-lis pendens buyer entitled to notice of foreclosure hearings?
Not unless the court has made it a party. A buyer who never obtained an order allowing intervention is a stranger to the case, and in Barnsdale the foreclosure judgment stood even though the buyer said it was not told about the hearing where its papers were struck.
Can a lawyer be sanctioned for a frivolous foreclosure appeal in Florida?
Yes. Section 57.105 allows fee sanctions against a party and its lawyer when a claim or appeal is not supported by the facts or existing law. In Barnsdale, one judge would have ordered the buyer’s lawyer to show cause, but the majority did not join him.
Talk to a Florida foreclosure defense lawyer
Weidner Law, P.A. has defended Florida homeowners in foreclosure and foreclosure appeals for more than 25 years. If you need a foreclosure defense lawyer, call (727) 954-8752 or email weidner@mattweidnerlaw.com.
Read the law yourself, free: every Florida statute and court rule is on floridarules.net.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it, watching the videos, or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.
