What Can We Learn From a Florida Dock Dispute?

Just your typical Miami neighbor dispute involving a $20 million dollar home, superyachts, marijuana edibles and Shakira. You know, the usual.

78-year-old Louise Attkiss was lounging by her pool, enjoying a weed gummy with her boyfriend, when her new next-door neighbor (Roland Peralta, co-founder of hair growth supplement company Nutrafol) knocked on her door and introduced themselves. After chatting for a bit, they asked Attkiss to sign a document allowing them to build a new, expanded dock next door to fit their 88-foot superyacht. Attkiss agreed and signed the document right then and there (without a lawyer reviewing it!)

Wouldn’t you know it, the next morning, like any good high, Attkiss regretted signing the agreement and texted the neighbors a revocation of the consent to the dock.

Peralta’s permit application continued and he allegedly received his permit based on notarized letters of consent from Attkiss as well as a representative of the homeowner on the other side, international pop-star Shakira. Peralta then built the dock. It’s claimed that the notary signed the document three months after Attkiss signed the document on the fateful edible night.

Attkiss, meanwhile sold her home to Randy Gelber, CFO for Epic Games, the company behind the video game Fortnite. As you can imagine, Gelber (and his family) does not enjoy his Peralta’s dock and claims that it blocks their view and presents a safety risk for nearby boaters.

Shakira (through her attorney) appears to share Gelber’s concerns and no longer supports Peralta’s dock (so sad!) She too is concerned about the dock “creating hazardous conditions for children and families who swim, paddleboard, or operate small boats in the area.” Everyone is so concerned about the public LOL

So, what can we learn from this dockside drama?

We can discuss PROOF OF EXECUTION BY SUBSCRIBING WITNESS, a way that notaries in FL can notarize a document AFTER the document has been executed. This is used when the person who originally signed a legal document cannot appear before a notary public. Instead, someone who witnessed the signing (known as a subscribing witness) appears before the notary and confirms that:

· They personally saw the signer execute the document
· They are not a party to the document
· They were asked by the signer to witness the signing

This is commonly used in real estate transactions and other legal matters when the original signer is unavailable due to travel, incapacity, or death. It’s important to note that the notary is not notarizing the original signer’s execution, they are notarizing the witness’s statement that they saw the individual sign the document and thereby allowing a recording of the document. This is, as you can imagine, not very common and is used as a last resort, with specific forms and strict rules to prevent fraud. 

We typically use this as way to correct deeds. A good example of this would be a person signed a document related to a real estate transaction but for some reason did not acknowledge his signature before a notary public. Of course, the document can’t be recorded by the county clerk because it lacks notarization. The problem may be further complicated if the document signer can’t be located (or has passed). Florida law provides that one of the subscribing witnesses on the document may “prove” the execution of the document by swearing that the person did actually sign the document. With that sworn statement, the document may then be recorded.

So, there you have it. We learn that in general, the notary needs to be in a witness to the signing in order to notarize the document UNLESS a Proof of Execution by a Subscribing Witness is used. We also learn that in Miami, you just can’t make these neighbor disputes up!!