Daniel Stermer v. Federated Foundation Trust

── Daniel Stermer v. Federated Foundation Trust ── Case No.: 26-10443 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 20, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 26-10443 Document: 38-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 1 of 6 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 26-10443 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ DANIEL J. STERMER, as Receiver for the Heron Pond Condominium Association Inc., Plaintiff-Appellee, IN RE HERON POND CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INC. Consol Plaintiff, versus HERON POND CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., et al., Defendants, FEDERATED FOUNDATION TRUST, Defendant-Appellant, FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Consol Defendant. USCA11 Case: 26-10443 Document: 38-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 2 of 6 2 Opinion of the Court 26-10443 ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 0:25-cv-61909-RS ____________________ Before BRANCH, GRANT, and KIDD, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: In August 2024, the City of Pembroke Pines, Florida, con- demned and fully vacated the Heron Pond Condominiums due to safety concerns. Daniel Stermer, who was appointed as receiver for the Heron Pond Condominium Association, Inc., petitioned for termination of the association, which was granted by a Florida state court. Through a court-approved marketing procedure, Stermer identified Integra Real Estate, LLC (“Integra”) as a “stalking horse” bidder to purchase the condominium property. Integra’s bid of $20,500,000 set the minimum auction price for the property. To be able to participate in this auction, potential bidders had to submit a packet that satisfied several criteria, which included “provid[ing] evidence of [their] ability to close a transaction.” Federated Foundation Trust (“Federated”), who owned sev- eral units in the condominium complex and wished to participate in the auction, failed to follow these requirements, and instead sub- mitted its package at the “last minute” without the correct docu- mentation. Federated was ultimately “deemed not a qualified bid- der” for the auction. USCA11 Case: 26-10443 Document: 38-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 3 of 6 26-10443 Opinion of the Court 3 No other qualified bids were submitted before the deadline, and the proceedings were removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Stermer moved the dis- trict court to approve the proposed sale of the condominium prop- erty to Integra. Federated objected to the sale and argued, in rele- vant part, that Stermer failed to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 66 and breached his fiduciary duty, and that “transpar- ency and procedural due process” were lacking in the sale proceed- ings. On January 7, 2026, the district court held a sale hearing. At this hearing, Federated explained that it was “not objecting to the sale itself,” but rather “to the process in which [it] w[as] disqualified as [a] bidder[].” After hearing Federated’s arguments, the district court e