Fuentes v. Shevin

Facts

The Appellant, Margarita Fuentes (Appellant), was a resident of Florida. She purchased a gas stove from the Firestone tire and Rubber Co. (Firestone) under a sales contract calling for monthly payments. A few months later, she purchased a stereo from the same company under the same type of contract. Following a dispute over the servicing of the stove, Appellant failed to make several monthly payments and Firestone initiated an action in a small claims court for repossession of both the stereo and stove. Simultaneous with the filing of that action and before Appellant had even received a summons to answer its complaint, Firestone obtained a writ of replevin ordering a sheriff to seize the disputed goods at once. To obtain the writ, Florida procedure only required Firestone to fill in the blanks on the appropriate form documents and submit them to the clerk of the small claims court. There was no requirement that the applicant make a convincing showing before the seizure that the goods were wrongfully detained. Florida’s procedure only required a bare assertion by Firestone that it was entitled to a writ, in addition to posting a security bond. The clerk signed and stamped the documents and issued a writ of replevin. Later that day, a local sheriff and an agent of Firestone went to Appellant’s home and seized the stove and stereo. Appellant was provided no prior notice and allowed no opportunity whatsoever to challenge the issuance of the writ. After the property was seized, Florida law gave Appellant an opportunity for a hearing. In addition, the sheriff was required to hold the property for three days and surrender it back to Appellant if she posted a bond double the value of the property seized. A separate appellant filed a similar action in federal district court in Pennsylvania, challenging the constitutionality of the state’s prejudgment replevin process, which the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) consolidated along with this action.