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Appellate Law

The Florida Appellate Blog

Covers the Florida state appellate courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
By Lonn Weissblum

Post Frequency: 0.4/day

Last Entry: February 11, 2009 at 15:05:45

Linstroth v. Dorgan Update

Posted on October 14, 2008
For those who may be interested, on September 26, 2008, a Brief on Jurisdiction was filed in the Florida Supreme Court in the Linstroth v. Dorgan case. The Linstroth case involves Section 61.14(1)(b), Florida Statutes, which is Florida's "supportive relationship"...

Probate Attorney's Fees: Services That Benefit The Estate

Posted on October 10, 2008
In Duncombe v. Adderly, No. 4D07-3193 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 8, 2008), the Fourth DCA reversed a probate court order denying the appellant's petition for attorney's fees for rendering services to an estate. The probate court's reasoning for denying the...

Right for the Wrong Reasons and Construction of Covenants Not to Compete

Posted on October 08, 2008
As the Third DCA indicated today, an appellate court may affirm a trial court's decision that reaches the correct result even if the appellate court does not agree with the trial court's reasoning. In Tri-County Concrete Products, Inc. v. Lower,...

Eighth Time is Not the Charm

Posted on October 06, 2008
The Third DCA recently released an opinion in which it precluded a defendant from filing further papers unless they are reviewed and signed by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing. In Lenoir v. State, No. 3D08-1631 (Fla....

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Probate Litigation: Presumption of Intentional Revocation

Posted on October 02, 2008
Yesterday, the Fourth DCA issued an interesting opinion involving the presumption that a testator destroyed his or her will with the intention of revoking it where the will was in the testator's possession prior to death and could not be...

Police Captain Required to Resign to Run for Mayor

Posted on September 26, 2008
City of Tampa v. Lewis, No. 2D07-3282 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 26, 2008), concerns the issue of whether Florida's "resign-to-run" law in Section 99.012, Florida Statutes, required a police captain to resign from his position in order to run for...

Internet Printouts Do Not Support a Transfer of Venue

Posted on September 24, 2008
A printout from the internet is not sufficient to support a transfer of venue. In Padin v. Travis, No. 4D08-887 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 24, 2008), the plaintiffs brought an action in Broward County against two defendants who resided in...

School Board Improperly Rejected ALJ's Findings

Posted on September 23, 2008
In Fowler v. Escambia County School Board, No. 1D07-4826 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 22, 2008), the appellant sought to overturn an order of the Escambia County School Board which upheld her termination from employment. In upholding the termination of the...

The Aftermath of Glenn in the Eleventh Circuit: Doyle v. Liberty Life II

Posted on September 19, 2008
In June, I remarked that the Supreme Court's decision in Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn supported the comments made in January by a panel of the Eleventh Circuit in Doyle v. Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Boston ("Doyle I")....

Wills, Exploitation, Prior Bad Acts, and Harmless Error

Posted on September 18, 2008
In Johnson v. State, No. 4D06-2783 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 17, 2008), the defendant appealed from a conviction for exploitation of the elderly, arguing that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the alleged victim's will under the Williams...

Appealable Partial Final Orders: Part II

Posted on September 16, 2008
Yesterday, the First DCA issued another opinion concerning the appealability of partial final orders. In Pohlman v. Aqua Condominium Developers, Ltd., No. 1D08-3454 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 15, 2008), the trial court dismissed two counts of a three count complaint...

Pregnancy Discrimination and the Florida Civil Rights Act

Posted on September 12, 2008
In Carsillo v. City of Lake Worth, No. 4D07-4236 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 10, 2008), the Fourth DCA held that the Florida Civil Rights Act ("FCRA") bars discrimination based on pregnancy. In Carsillo, a fire department employee requested light duty...

Successor Judges and Changes to Final Judgments

Posted on September 10, 2008
The Fourth DCA released a number of interesting opinions today, and I will discuss those opinions over my next few posts. Although Alcenat v. Alcenat, No. 4D07-998 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 10, 2008), is a family law case, the opinion...

Adieu to Amendments 7 and 9

Posted on September 08, 2008
Last week, in Ford v. Browning, No. SC08-1529, the Florida Supreme Court enjoined the Florida Secretary of State and all entities acting under his direction from placing Amendment 7 (Religious Freedom) and Amendment 9 (School Funding) on the November general...

Fraud in the Inducement, Copiers, and Manufacturer's Representations

Posted on September 05, 2008
In Output, Inc. v. Danka Business Systems, Inc., No. 4D07-2008 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 3, 2008), the Fourth DCA concluded that a plaintiff can state a cause of action for fraudulent misrepresentation when a defendant's alleged misrepresentation is included in...

Manifest Injustice and Credit for Time Served

Posted on September 03, 2008
In very isolated situations in the criminal context, the failure to appeal does not constitute the death knell with respect to certain forms of relief. In Allen v. State, No. 08-1562 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 3, 2008), the appellant sought...

Magistrate's Recommended Order and Leave to Amend Complaint

Posted on August 29, 2008
In Moore v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., No. 2D07-4376 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 29, 2008), the appellant/plaintiff appealed from an order entering judgment on the pleadings in favor of the appellee/defendant and from an order denying her motion to amend...

Tropical Storm Fay Tolling Orders

Posted on August 27, 2008
As a result of Tropical Storm Fay, the Florida Supreme Court issued several tolling orders relating to the District Courts of Appeal. Visit the Court's Administrative Orders page and scroll down to the "Emergency Request to Extend Time Periods Under....

Imputing Income in a Divorce Case: A Quick Primer

Posted on June 16, 2008
Today, the First DCA issued an opinion that is a good primer about what evidence and findings are necessary to impute income when considering an alimony award in a divorce case. In Griffin v. Griffin, the Husband testified that his...

?Supportive Relationship? Under Section 61.14(1)(b)

Posted on June 11, 2008
The Fourth DCA released a number of family law opinions today, one of which is Linstroth v. Dorgan. In Linstroth, the parties divorced in 1992 and the trial court awarded the former wife $2,775.00 per month in permanent periodic alimony....

11th Circuit Declines to Expand ERISA "Full and Fair Review"

Posted on June 11, 2008
After working on my fair share of ERISA cases over the past few years, which included some appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, I try to keep an eye on the latest ERISA developments...

Florida Courts Budget Cut News

Posted on June 10, 2008
The June 15, 2008 issue of the Florida Bar News has the latest news on the effects of the budget cuts on Florida's court system. In addition to what I discussed regarding the 4th DCA last week, here is the...

4th DCA Change in Court Hours of Public Access

Posted on June 06, 2008
More budget cut news: the Fourth DCA recently posted a notice on its web site regarding a change in its hours of public access and the resulting effect on the acceptance of filings. The notice also indicates that the Court...

Municipality?s Immunity: Who Let the Dogs Out?

Posted on June 04, 2008
The Fourth DCA issued an opinion in City of Delray Beach v. St. Juste on the issue of whether a municipality's immunity is eliminated when two loose dogs injure a person and, despite being aware from several complaints that the...

1st DCA: Confess Error or Pay Section 57.105 Fees

Posted on June 02, 2008
The First DCA released an interesting opinion today which provides some very good advice to appellate attorneys: if you do not timely confess error, you face the prospect of an award of attorneys' fees under Section 57.105, Florida Statutes.

Florida Appellate Court Layoffs and Decertifications

Posted on May 30, 2008
The June 1, 2008 edition of the Florida Bar News contains an article about the upcoming layoffs in the state court system. With respect to the appellate courts, the article indicates that even with a proposal to reduce the lost...

Florida Supreme Court Grandparent Adoption Case

Posted on May 28, 2008
The Florida Supreme Court recently decided this case in which the 1st DCA certified the following question of great public importance: Does a trial court abuse its discretion granted by Chapter 63, Florida Statutes, when it denies an adoption petition...

Justice Bell Resigns

Posted on May 23, 2008
Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth B. Bell announced his resignation from the Court effective October 1, 2008. According to the press release, Justice Bell's reasons for leaving the Court are similar to those of Justice Cantero.

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