Child support, standing, appeals, and red lentil penne with goat cheese, garlic tomatoes, and fresh herbs

 

Appeals -- Appellant lacks standing to appeal trial court's order denying motion to vacate final judgment entered against appellant's wife where appellant was not named as party and did not move to intervene in lower court proceedings -- Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. GABOR SIMMONDS, Appellant, v. IN RE: GRACE OLAECHEA VS. LIZETTE OLAECHEA, Appellee. 3rd District.

 

Child support -- Administrative order -- Assertions that Department of Revenue erred in calculating amount of child support obligation without considering father's ability to pay and that Department improperly considered child care costs in absence of competent, substantial evidence relating to those costs were not preserved for review where father failed to request administrative hearing -- Further, claims were raised on appeal that were unrelated to calculation of statutory child support -- Order affirmed without prejudice to father seeking relief as outlined in section 409.2563. RAYMOND FELICIANO, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT, and STEFFANIE DANIELLE CACCIATORE, Appellees. 4th District.

 

Civil procedure -- Intervention -- Trial court did not abuse discretion by denying motion to intervene in action where party seeking to intervene would interject new and independent claims that would predominate over issues shared with main action. MARIA SOLEDAD LARRAIN TRONCOSO, et al., Appellants, v. MANUEL ANTONIO OSSANDON LARRAIN, Appellee. 3rd District.

 

Civil procedure -- Jurors -- Voir dire -- Challenge -- Cause -- Torts -- Product liability -- Tobacco -- Trial court committed reversible error by granting defendant's motion to exclude eight prospective jurors based solely on their written responses to particular question on jury questionnaire without first allowing counsel to question those jurors as permitted under rule 1.431(b) where it was not “conclusively clear” from their written answers that the excused prospective jurors could not be impartial -- New trial required -- Evidence -- Admission of individual photograph depicting decedent not smoking was not probative of how much decedent did or did not smoke -- Testimony that decedent could go into hotels owned by her family and “sign for things without paying” was also not relevant to any material fact. SHAN FROGEL, as personal representative of the Estate of Bette J. Cash, Appellant, v. PHILIP MORRIS USA, INC., Appellee. 4th District.

 

Declaratory judgments -- Trial court erred in dismissing declaratory judgment action where complaint stated cause of action for declaratory relief -- Allegation that plaintiff is in doubt as to right to distribution of certain royalties states real and substantial justiciable controversy, so that there is a need for declaration of rights as to distribution of royalties. MUSIC ROYALTY CONSULTING, INC., Appellant, v. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS (ASCAP) and JK ENTERTAINMENT, LLC, Appellees. 3rd District.

 

Dissolution of marriage -- Alimony -- Modification -- Change in circumstances -- Trial court erred in concluding that former husband failed to prove substantial change in circumstances with respect to his ability to pay alimony following entry of dissolution judgment where evidence showed that former husband's current available take-home pay as financial advisor had been substantially reduced due to certain deductions from his paycheck made by his current employer -- Decrease in income was not voluntary, but instead stemmed from factor outside husband's control -- Although trial court properly concluded that change in circumstances was not permanent, as deductions from paycheck would eventually end, husband failed to preserve for review his argument that trial court should have considered a temporary modification -- Order denying modification petition affirmed without prejudice to husband seeking temporary modification. PAUL DAVID SJOGREN, Appellant, v. MARY SJOGREN, Appellee. 4th District.

 

Dissolution of marriage -- Attorney's fees -- Trial court erred in including in fees awarded to former wife in connection with child support modification proceedings amounts attributable to clerical and secretarial work. dALBERT STEVEN CORIAT, Appellant, v. ENMA LARISSA CORIAT, Appellee. 3rd District.

 

Dissolution of marriage -- Child support -- Imputed income -- Voluntary underemployment -- No error in finding that former husband was voluntarily underemployed where, although former husband was involuntarily terminated from his logistics job, he pursued a lower paying career in real estate -- Error to impute a salary of $120,000 on former husband where there was insufficient evidence to show former husband had present ability to earn that amount in logistics in his community. YANN GERVILLE-REACHE, Former Husband, Appellant, v. INA GERVILLE-REACHE, Former Wife, Appellee. 1st District.

 

Dissolution of marriage -- Equitable distribution -- Alimony -- Child support -- Life insurance -- Trial court erred in including in equitable distribution a vehicle which was no longer in wife's possession -- Trial court improperly valued husband's vehicle by failing to consider negative equity in the vehicle where affidavit submitted by husband regarding the vehicle's value and outstanding debt was admitted into evidence without objection -- Trial court improperly valued investment accounts as of the date husband petitioned for dissolution rather than date of trial where, although accounts had been considerably depleted by time of trial, there was no finding of misconduct -- Trial court erred in requiring husband to maintain life insurance to secure support obligations where it failed to make findings as to the availability and cost of insurance, and husband's ability to pay -- Evidence was insufficient to support award of child support based on 50/50 timesharing where, although parties stipulated to 50/50 timesharing, husband's testimony established that he could not exercise equal timesharing. JOSEPH WILLIAM O'NEILL JR., Appellant, v. CAROLYN SWINK O'NEILL, Appellee. 4th District.

 

Employer-employee relations -- Whistle blowers -- Retaliation -- Jury instructions -- Causation -- New trial -- Discussion of proper standard of causation to be applied in cases involving employer retaliation under Whistle Blower's Act -- Trial court abused its discretion in denying defendant's request to instruct jury that it could return a verdict in favor of plaintiff only if it found that plaintiff's termination would not have occurred but for defendant retaliating against plaintiff's protected activity -- United States Supreme Court's decision in Univ. of Tex. Sw. Med. Ctr. v. Nasser requires the use of a “but for” rather than a “motivating factor” causation standard when analyzing claims under the state's Whistle Blower's Act -- New trial on liability and causation is required using “but for” jury instruction -- Damages -- No error in granting defendant's motion to set aside damages for future loss of earning capacity where only speculative testimony was presented to the jury -- There was no competent substantial evidence to support plaintiff's expert's assumption that plaintiff would have been compensated at the same rate as those who were in the top ten percent earning strata of plaintiff's field or who had obtained leadership positions because plaintiff had no such earnings history, no such demonstrated competency, never held any such leadership positions, and those few high paying jobs went to more senior practitioners. DR. AHMAD Z. CHAUDHRY, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. ADVENTIST HEALTH SYSTEM SUNBELT, INC., D/B/A FLORIDA HOSPITAL AND/OR FLORIDA HOSPITAL TRANSPLANT INSTITUTE, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. 5th District.

 

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Coverage -- Appraisal -- Waiver -- Trial court erred in compelling appraisal of residential home under policy where there were disputes over coverage and policy specifically precluded appraisal for coverage issues -- Moreover, any right of appraisal was waived where suit was filed and litigated for a year prior to appraisal request. CYPRESS PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. EMPIRE MITIGATION RESTORATION AND CONSULTING, LLC a/a/o Steve Wexler and Paula Wexler, Appellee. 1st District.

 

Mortgage foreclosure -- Standing -- Lost note -- Reestablishment -- Res judicata -- Collateral estoppel -- No error in entering final summary judgment in favor of borrowers for lack of standing where there was a break in the assignment of the note prior to the purported assignment to plaintiff -- Previous assignee in chain of assignment had no interest in the note to transfer to plaintiff because the former assignment to previous assignee only transferred interest in the mortgage -- Trial court erred in finding that res judicata barred plaintiff's foreclosure action because, in a prior foreclosure action between the same parties, the trial court made a specific finding that plaintiff failed to reestablish the lost note -- Section 673.3091 does not create an independent cause of action -- The right to enforce a lost note, in foreclosure context, travels with the breach that triggers the need to seek enforcement, a default by mortgagor -- Plaintiff may pursue foreclosure based upon borrower's subsequent defaults, each of which furnishes a separate cause of action -- No abuse of discretion in denying plaintiff's motion for rehearing to present additional evidence regarding the assignment to previous assignee -- Failure of proof is not a basis to reopen evidence -- Court rejects argument that evidence plaintiff sought to produce was newly discovered where the evidence existed well before trial and plaintiff knew borrowers contested its standing. FORTY ONE YELLOW, LLC, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. YOEL REMON ESCALONA and NURIA GONZALEZ, Appellees/Cross-Appellants. 2nd District.

 

Rules of Appellate Procedure -- Amendments -- New rules -- General provisions -- Addition of new subdivision requiring every court to publish on its website written opinions not covered by Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420 -- Notice of appeal -- Orders of lower tribunals and orders granting new trial in jury and nonjury cases -- Requirement that notice of appeal indicate that a motion tolling rendition is pending in lower tribunal -- Nonfinal orders and specified final orders -- Orders disposing of motions for rehearing are not reviewable separate and apart from a review of a final order -- Constitutional challenge to state statute or state constitutional provision -- Parties in cases other than criminal and collateral criminal proceedings where constitutionality of statute or constitutional provision is challenged are required to provide notice of such to attorney general -- Attorneys -- Limitation of appearance -- Attorney of record for party in appeal or original proceeding shall be attorney of record unless, at time of appearance, attorney files a notice specifically limiting appearance to one particular matter or portion of proceeding -- Court declines to adopt proposed amendments to rules regarding uniform citation system and notice of supplemental authority. IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE -- 2020 REGULAR-CYCLE REPORT. Supreme Court of Florida.

 

Torts -- Medical malpractice -- Sovereign immunity -- University is entitled to sovereign immunity for services rendered by its employee physician at Public Health Trust teaching hospital where university provides healthcare services -- Pursuant to terms of university's agreement with hospital, it was hospital's agent at time physician treated plaintiff -- University is immune from suit because physician treated plaintiff while acting as hospital's statutory agent. MARIA JOANNA LAZZARI, etc., Appellant, v. PABLO GUZMAN, M.D., etc., et al., Appellees. 3rd District.

 

Torts -- New trial -- Trial court did not abuse discretion by granting plaintiff's motion for new trial where defense counsel intentionally misrepresented to court that Fire Rescue Report had not been admitted into evidence, leading court to remove the report from evidence during closing argument, and made improper and inflammatory remarks during closing argument. WE THE BEST MUSIC, INC., Appellant, v. KENDRICK STAFFORD, Appellee. 3rd District.

 

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Contempt, limitation of actions, indemnity, and beef medallions with portobello mushroom-fresh rosemary sauce on a bed of cauliflower mash

Adoption -- Circuit court erred in entering order requiring adoption agency to conduct a diligent search for putative father of child placed with agency for adoption -- Adoption agency is not required to serve a notice of intended adoption plan on a putative father unless the mother has first identified a known and locatable unmarried biological father by the date the mother signs her consent for adoption -- Agency is not required to conduct a diligent search for the putative father unless the mother has identified a potential father by the time she signs the consent for adoption -- Court's sua sponte questioning of mother as to identity of potential father five months after she had consented to termination of parental rights and adoption was a violation of mother's privacy rights

CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. V. D., IN RE: THE MATTER OF TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS FOR THE PROPOSED ADOPTION OF A MINOR CHILD, Appellee. 1st District.

Appeals -- Belated appeal of order dismissing petition for writ of mandamus -- Court has no authority to grant belated appeal in civil proceeding

MORRIS FAIN, Petitioner, v. FLORIDA COMMISSION ON OFFENDER REVIEW, Respondent. 1st District.

Civil procedure -- Relief from judgment -- Motion for relief from judgment on basis of fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct was untimely where it was brought more than one year after entry of judgment -- Motion for relief from judgment on basis that judgment was void fails where judgment was not void -- So long as court has jurisdiction over the subject matter and over defendant, a procedural defect occurring before entry of judgment does not render the judgment void

LIDIA E. CONTRERAS, Appellant, vs. NELSON E. MENDEZ, Appellee. 3rd District.

Civil procedure -- Summary judgment -- Notice of summary judgment evidence on which adverse party intends to rely -- Trial court properly interpreted rule 1.510 as requiring adverse party to file notice in response to a motion for summary judgment even if the evidence upon which it seeks to rely is already in the record -- Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Coverage -- Medical expenses -- Reasonable, related and necessary treatment -- Trial court did not err in finding that insurer did not satisfy rule 1.510(c) by filing, during discovery, a doctor's affidavit stating affiant's conclusion that portions of treatment were not reasonable, related, or medically necessary, which was accompanied by notice stating insurer's intent to rely upon the affidavit “for any purpose permitted pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Florida Evidence Code” -- Circuit court acting in its appellate capacity did not depart from essential requirements of law by affirming county court ruling

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. FIGLER FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC, P.A., A/A/O LINDA MANNERS, Respondent. 4th District.

Contracts -- Asset purchase agreement -- Sale of insurance agency -- Unjust enrichment -- Conversion -- Trial court should have directed verdict on seller's claim for unjust enrichment against buyers where there was express agreement between seller and buyers -- Individual defendant could not be held personally liable for breach of agreement by buyers' agency where evidence did not establish that she personally benefitted beyond the amount awarded for buyers' agency's breach of contract or that she benefitted separate and apart from the agency -- Trial court should have granted defendants' motion for judgment notwithstanding verdict on conversion claim where jury awarded finite amount of damages for defendants' breach of contract, and there was no evidence that seller sustained any additional damages as result of conversion of other assets

VALERIE FULTON, FULTON INSURANCE AGENCY, INC., and DEAN C. FULTON, Appellants, v. JUDITH BRANCATO, Appellee. 4th District.

Contracts -- Settlement agreement -- Where, in plaintiff's action against bank for breach of employment agreement, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and declaratory and injunctive relief, parties reached settlement agreement for certain payments to be made to plaintiff, with proposed payments to be submitted to federal regulatory entities for approval of payment terms within six months, the payment terms of the agreement were not enforceable when regulatory approval was not received within six months -- Trial court erred in granting defendants' motion to enforce settlement agreement upon finding that the six-month period in the agreement referred to a period of non-litigation rather than an expiration date of the agreement

DANIEL T. HESTER, an individual, Appellant, v. FLORIDA CAPITAL GROUP, INC., a Florida corporation; CHARLES E. HUGHES, an individual; and J. MALCOLM JONES, JR., an individual, Appellees. 2nd District.

Creditors' rights -- Fraudulent transfers -- Limitation of actions -- For purpose of Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act's provision that a claim of fraudulent transfer is extinguished unless brought within 4 years after the transfer was made or, if later, within 1 year after the transfer was or could reasonably have been discovered, the one-year savings clause is triggered by a creditor's discovery of the transfer rather than by the creditor's discovery of the facts showing the transfer to have been fraudulent -- Statute is a statute of repose which is not subject to an assertion of equitable estoppel

NATIONAL AUTO SERVICE CENTERS, INC., a Florida corporation; NATIONAL AUTO PROPERTIES, INC., a Florida corporation; LEONARD D. LEVIN, individually; CAROL LEVIN, individually; DURANT HOLDINGS, LLC; and BEDFORD INVESTMENTS, LLC, Appellants, v. F/R 550, LLC, a Florida limited liability company; and F/R 3329, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, Appellees. 2nd District.

Criminal law -- Contempt -- Jurors -- Competent substantial evidence supports convictions for contempt by juror who, during voir dire, concealed and failed to disclose his ex-wife's DUI arrest and, against the instructions of the trial court that jurors not conduct their own investigations, conducted a drinking experiment on himself to test the impairment effects of alcohol

DENNIS DeMARTIN, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 4th District.

Criminal law -- Discovery -- Appeals -- Certiorari -- Where defense had issued subpoenas duces tecum to various third parties without permission of trial court and without notifying state of its intent to issue the subpoenas, and state, upon discovering that the subpoenas had been issued, filed a motion to compel production of all evidence produced pursuant to the illegal subpoenas, state is not entitled to writ of certiorari to have appellate court quash trial court order finding that state was not entitled to copies of all documents provided pursuant to the subpoenas, but only to those documents which were intended to be used at any hearing or trial -- State is not entitled to issuance of writ of certiorari because state has failed to demonstrate irreparable harm

THE STATE OF FLORIDA, Petitioner, vs. WESLEY FOLEY, Respondent. 3rd District.

Criminal law -- First degree murder -- Evidence -- Hearsay -- Trial court erred when it admitted into evidence an audio recording of statement made to police by person who implicated defendant in crime -- Admission of testimony violated right to confrontation of witnesses where statement was testimonial in nature and witness was not available or subject to prior cross-examination -- Trial court was within its discretion in finding that witness's refusal to testify rendered him an unavailable witness -- Fact that defendant had opportunity to cross-examine witness during pretrial discovery deposition does not satisfy cross-examination requirement of Crawford v. Washington -- Error not harmless

HECTOR JOSUE VAZQUEZ PADILLA, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 2nd District.

Criminal law -- Meritless pro se filings -- Clerk of Court directed to reject any future pleadings or other requests for relief submitted by defendant unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar -- Clerk of Court directed to forward certified copy of opinion to Department of Corrections institution or facility where defendant is incarcerated

OTIS D. BLAXTON, Petitioner, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. Supreme Court of Florida.

Dissolution of marriage -- Child custody -- Although trial court's factual findings supported provision that husband would have sole parental responsibility for decisions relating to children's education and medical care, final judgment failed to include specific finding that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to children

DENISE COLLINS, Appellant, v. DWAYNE COLLINS, SR., Appellee. 5th District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Child support -- Trial court erred in ordering that parties be equally responsible for payment of all non-covered medical expenses for children where this allocation conflicts with allocation of parties' relative financial responsibility for child support -- As general rule, if non-covered medical expenses are ordered to be separately paid, absent some logically established rationale in the final judgment to the contrary, they must be allocated in the same percentage as the child support allocation

KELLY M. DEMMI, Former Wife, Appellant, v. MARK S. DEMMI, Former Husband, Appellee. 1st District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Equitable distribution -- Marital/non-marital assets -- Prenuptial agreement -- Error to include as marital asset in equitable distribution scheme the portion of value of former husband's premarital home attributable to appreciation and contribution of marital funds to pay down home equity line of credit and mortgage where prenuptial agreement provided that husband would be entitled to any and all equity in premarital home and that wife would not be entitled to any interest in home unless granted such interest in a formal written instrument -- Child custody -- Parenting plan -- Error to fail to incorporate into amended final judgment the amended parenting plan that trial court ordered on rehearing from original final judgment -- Interrelated issue of attorney's fees may be revisited on remand

ANTHONY FELICE, Appellant, v. MELISSA FELICE, Appellee. 2nd District.

Dissolution of marriage -- Modification of parenting plan -- Service of process -- Error to deny motion to quash service of process and to set aside order granting former wife's motion to modify timesharing and child support on the basis that former husband's counsel's general appearance constituted a waiver of service -- Attorney's filing of general notice of appearance in order to conduct a review of trial court files in case did not constitute a waiver of service of process -- An after-the-fact general appearance does not waive a defect in the service of process related to a supplemental modification petition

MANUEL E. SALINAS, Appellant, vs. KRISTIN N. PASCARIELLO, Appellee. 3rd District.

Employer-employee relations -- Civil rights -- Claims alleging wrongful retaliatory termination of employment under Florida Whistleblower Act and Florida Civil Rights Act -- Trial court properly entered summary judgment for defendant upon determining that plaintiff cannot establish that the grounds for his termination were causally linked to protected activity, and that employer evidenced a pretextual reason for his termination

ELADIO GONZALEZ, Appellant, vs. NORTHWINGS ACCESSORIES CORP., etc., Appellee. 3rd District.

Injunctions -- Dating violence -- Error to enter injunction against dating violence where there was insufficient evidence of reasonable cause to believe that petitioner was in imminent danger of another act of dating violence

VICTOR NUILA, Appellant, v. CRYSTAL STOLP, Appellee. 5th District.

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Coverage -- Medical expenses -- Statutory fee schedules -- Clear and unambiguous notice to insured of insurer's intent to determine reasonableness by reference to Medicare fee schedules -- Language of policy endorsement stating that amounts payable “shall be subject to any and all limitations, authorized by section 627.736, or any other provisions of the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law, as enacted, amended or otherwise contained in the law, including but not limited to, all fee schedules” gave insureds and their respective medical care providers legally sufficient notice of insured's election to use Medicare fee schedules

ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY, Appellant, v. MARKLEY CHIROPRACTIC & ACUPUNCTURE, LLC, as assignee of Ilene Chavez, Appellee. 2nd District.

Insurance -- Sinkhole claims -- Multi-building condominium property -- Insured prevailing in action against insurer -- Costs -- Trial court abused its discretion in including reimbursement for public adjuster and property management fees in taxable costs, as property management fees and public adjuster fees were not litigation costs -- Trial court erred in awarding as taxable cost various expenses and fees incurred in appraisal process where policy required insured to pay its own appraiser and bear equal share of umpire and other appraisal expenses -- Attorney's fees -- Multiplier -- Error to apply contingency risk multiplier where fee agreement guaranteed payment at a lesser hourly rate, which mitigated the risk of nonpayment, and evidence showed that attorney had been paid under the contract -- Trial court erred by limiting recovery of attorney's fees and prejudgment interest to only one building where suit encompassed other buildings in condominium complex

CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORP., Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. RIVER OAKS CONDOMINIUM II ASSOCIATION, INC., a/k/a RIVER OAKS II CONDO ASSOCIATION, INC., Appellee/Cross-Appellant. 2nd District.

Torts -- Indemnity -- Indemnity provision in agreement between automobile distributor and carrier of automobiles, which included the words “in whole or in part,” did not contain clear and unequivocal terms providing that carrier would indemnify distributor for distributor's own acts of negligence where parties were held jointly liable for the underlying personal injury -- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment finding that language in agreement was sufficiently unequivocal to require carrier to indemnify distributor for distributor's own negligence

ATC LOGISTICS CORPORATION, A/K/A ATC LOGISTICS, INC., Appellant, v. SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS, LLC, et al. Appellees. 1st District.

Wrongful death -- Medical malpractice -- Limitation of actions -- No error in dismissing complaint as time-barred where plaintiff alleged in her presuit notice of intent to initiate litigation that the family and estate of decedent discovered defendants' negligence on the date of decedent's death, a date which was more than two years prior to date complaint was filed -- Plaintiff was bound by statement in notice of intent -- No merit to plaintiff's contention that complaint was timely filed because she not only served her first notice of intent one day prior to expiration of limitations period, but also petitioned for extensions of the limitations period -- Ninety-day period during which statute of limitations is tolled following service of notice of intent commences on date notice is received, rather than date notice is mailed -- Because none of defendants received notice of intent until after statute of limitations expired, plaintiff could not revive it by filing petition for extension of limitations period

GINA MARIE BOVE, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Anthony Bove, deceased, Appellant, v. NAPLES HMA, LLC, d/b/a PHYSICIANS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER-PINE RI

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