## Facts

- Maria Cecilia Quadri bought a condominium unit in Miami, Florida, in 2011.
- Oscar Piccolo managed the condo as a rental property for a fee.
- Quadri was in a long-term relationship with Raul Parisi, who owned Oxen Group, LLC.
- In 2016, Quadri was living in Argentina with Parisi and was seriously ill with cancer.
- Quadri executed a “Special Power of Attorney” before an Argentinian notary that purported to authorize Piccolo to convey the Miami condominium.
- At the time Quadri signed the power of attorney, no subscribing witnesses signed it.
- Parisi delivered the power of attorney to Piccolo in Argentina, and Piccolo returned to the United States.
- Piccolo learned the condo could likely sell for about $260,000, but Quadri did not want to sell it for less than $300,000; Piccolo continued managing the property.
- As Quadri’s condition worsened, Piccolo arranged for two people to sign the previously executed power of attorney as purported subscribing witnesses.
- Piccolo then caused a quitclaim deed to be prepared and recorded, transferring the condo to Oxen Group, LLC for no consideration, with Piccolo signing as Quadri’s “attorney in fact.”
- Quadri died intestate three days after the deed was executed.
- Under Argentina’s intestacy rules, Quadri’s mother was entitled to inherit her property; in Florida, Quadri’s sister, Maria Isabel Quadri de Kingston, served as personal representative of Quadri’s estate and brought suit against Parisi, Piccolo, and Oxen Group.
- The estate sought, among other relief, to quiet title and a declaration that the power of attorney and deed were invalid; the trial court granted partial summary judgment and entered a partial final summary judgment for the estate on those issues, and the defendants appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a special power of attorney executed in Argentina without two subscribing witnesses satisfied section 709.2105, Florida Statutes (2013), so as to authorize a conveyance of Florida real property.
2. If the power of attorney was invalid, whether the quitclaim deed executed under it was void and failed to transfer title.

## Decision

- The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the partial summary judgment and partial final summary judgment in favor of the estate.
- Section 709.2105 (2013) requires a power of attorney to be signed by the principal and by two subscribing witnesses; that requirement applied here even though the instrument was executed outside Florida.
- The power of attorney was invalid because it lacked two subscribing witnesses at the time Quadri executed it.
- Witness signatures added later did not cure the defect, because the agent’s authority must exist when the conveyance is executed.
- Because Piccolo lacked valid authority to act for Quadri, the quitclaim deed to Oxen Group was void, and title remained with the estate.

## Legal Principles

- Florida statutory formalities for a power of attorney govern when the instrument is used to convey Florida real property, even if the power of attorney was executed in another country.
- Under section 709.2105, Florida Statutes (2013), a power of attorney is not valid unless signed by the principal and two subscribing witnesses.
- A power of attorney that is defective at execution is not made valid by later-added subscribing witness signatures.
- A deed executed by an agent without a valid power of attorney is void and does not pass title.
- Where material facts are not disputed and the result turns on statutory compliance, declaratory relief and quiet title claims may be resolved on summary judgment.

## Conclusion

In Parisi v. de Kingston, the Third DCA held that Quadri’s Argentina-executed special power of attorney lacked the two subscribing witnesses required by section 709.2105 and therefore did not authorize Piccolo to convey her Miami condominium; as a result, the quitclaim deed transferring the property to Parisi’s company for no consideration was void, and the estate retained title.


Parisi v. de Kingston, 357 So. 3d 1254 (2023)