TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Attorney General’s case against a South Florida realty company accused of locking homeowners into 40-year contracts and clouding hundreds of home titles will move forward with a jury trial in mid-October, a Hillsborough County judge said on Tuesday.
Attorneys for the state and for MV Realty were in court for a pretrial conference ahead of the anticipated proceedings.
“The state of Florida has 133 consumer witnesses who have all indicated that they are ready, willing and able to testify,” said Ellen Lyons, special counsel for the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
The state filed a lawsuit against MV Realty in November 2022, saying the company devised a “complex and deceptive scheme that attempts to skirt existing Florida law with the goal of swindling consumers out of their home equity through its Homeowner Benefit Program."
Through the program, MV Realty pays homeowners anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars of cash up-front for rights to be their realtor when they decide to sell their home.
Contracts last 40 years and are filed as a legal, public record in a way the attorney general’s office says acts like a lien.
“We contend that the listing and Homeowner Benefit Agreements…serves to tell the public about these obligations, thus, effectively acting like a lien and stopping people from being able to close their home transactions, refinancing's, home equity lines of credit, sales, et cetera,” Lyons said.
Violating the Homeowner Benefit Agreement can result in lawsuits and thousands of dollars in fees. However, an attorney for MV Realty said in court there is nothing deceptive about the agreement and that there are no liens.
“We believe the memorandum of homeowner notice — Homeowner Benefit Agreement — is a properly recorded notice under Florida law,” said attorney John Gekas. “They made those decisions for themselves as free citizens of the state of Florida and their decision should be honored and not overruled.”
Attorneys for MV Realty say more than 9,000 people across the state have signed contracts, that there are many satisfied customers and that the attorney general’s office only has 133 complaints. However, 10 Investigates has spoken to homeowners who said they did not think to file a complaint with the state.
Still, MV Realty stands by its program and process.
“I think we have affidavits or declarations from over 600 Floridians who reaffirmed that they understood the program, that they intend to honor the agreement,” Gekas said.
The attorney general’s office previously asked for an order to make MV Realty remove the Homeowner Benefit Agreements from the public record. The judge over the case denied that request, but it is one issue among many that will now be heard by a jury.
Jury selection is set for October 11. The trial is set to begin October 14.
Attorneys general in Georgia, California, Ohio, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have also filed suit against MV Realty.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.