A Way To Cure Simple Legal Description Drafting Errors

The Florida Legislature has provided a way to cure scrivener’s errors in legal descriptions in certain deeds without the need for filing a separate law suit to reform the document containing the error.

Florida Statute 689.041 allows for the filing and recording of a “Curative Notice” with the Clerk of the Court to correct a legal description containing:

(a) an error or omission in no more than one of the lot or block identifications of a recorded platted lot (The transposition of the lot and block identifications is considered one error);

(b) an error or omission in no more than one of the unit, building, or phase identifications of a condominium or cooperative trust; or

(c) an error or omission in no more than one directional designation or numerical fraction of a tract of land.

The Curative Notice must be substantially in the form provided in such statute. The recording of the Curative Notice operates as a correction of the first erroneous deed and all subsequent erroneous deeds containing the same error. This statute provides a relatively easy way for attorneys to fix simple legal description errors caused by a mistake in drafting and avoid the filing of a legal action to cure such error.