In this case, appellee received an attorneys’ fee judgment based upon a sanction award for discovery violations by appellants. The award, however, reflected an hourly rate that exceeded the rate actually billed to the client. The court found this to be error and reversed. Effective Teleservices, Inc. et al. v. Smith, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1692b… Read more
At trial, it was reversible error for court to involuntary dismiss lawsuit following close of Plaintiff’s case-in-chief. The Court should have considered parol evidence in determining whether Plaintiff, a Homeowners Association, had established prima facie case of violation of Association’s architectural restrictions. The Fourth DCA found that the trial court improperly limited its review to the meeting minutes in determining whether the Association… Read more
I am pleased to announce the launch of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.… Read more
During the last 30 days the Reporter has had 295 unique visitors and 620 pageviews, which we think is a great start. The main site, FloridaCivPro.com, has had over 5,100 visits and 14,160 pageviews during the same period. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find this site useful. We would love to have your comments… Read more
In this construction contract case, plaintiff’s counsel stated in open court, before jury selection, that he would voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice. He stated further that he would file a written dismissal thereafter. The defendants then filed a motion for fees and costs. The plaintiff never filed the written dismissal, but instead filed a motion for relief from the… Read more
An unsworn complaint, a lis pendens signed by counsel alone, and an answer and affirmative defenses filed by the defendant, “did not satisfy even the most rudimentary of conditions for entry of a mandatory injunction without notice to the adverse party” pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.610 and We’re Assocs. VI Ltd. P’ship v. Curzon Dev.… Read more
In this breach of contract case, plaintiffs filed a motion to take the prisoner-defendant’s deposition. Plaintiffs tried to appear telephonically at the hearing on their motion but failed to do so. At the hearing, the trial court reviewed the complaint and dismissed it sua sponte for failure to state a cause of action. The appellate court… Read more
4th DCA overturned trial court’s dismissal of case as sanction for Plaintiffs’ failure to attend own deposition where record lacked sufficient evidence that Plaintiff, rather than Plaintiff’s attorney, was responsible for failure to appear. Court found that the trial judge should have performed additional six part analysis for sanctions where the attorney, and not the client, is responsible… Read more
In this case, a shareholder received a jury verdict awarding him damages individually. After entry of the verdict, defendants filed a motion for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) because the shareholder’s expert valued the stock as of the incorrect date. The trial court denied the motion because, among other reasons, defendants had not moved for a directed verdict… Read more