When an appellate opinion is issued (and after any post-opinion motions have been resolved or the timing to file same has expired), oftentimes the matter is remanded back to the trial court to implement the appellate court’s opinion or mandate.   This mandate is the “official mode of communicating the judgment of the appellate court to the lower court, directing the action to be taken or the disposition to be made of the cause by the trial court.” Tierney v. Tierney, 290 So.2d 136, 137 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974).  In other words, once that mandate is issued, the trial court is obligated to comply.

What happens if the trial court does not comply with the appellate court’s mandate in the appellate opinion?   A party can move to enforce the mandate in the appellate court.

In Florida Digestive Health Specialists, LLP v. Ramon E. Colina, M.D., LLC, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2078a (Fla. 2d DCA 2016), the appellate court issued an opinion that remanded the matter back to the trial court to implement the mandate in the opinion.   In this matter, the mandate explained how the trial court was to implement a temporary injunction to enforce a restrictive covenant / non-compete agreement.   On remand, however, the trial court issued an order that did not fully comply with the appellate court’s mandate. This prompted a party to file a motion to enforce the mandate with the appellate court (as well as a notice of appeal of the trial court’s order that did not comply with the appellate mandate).

The appellate court granted the motion to enforce its mandate instructing the trial court to enter an order pursuant to its mandate:

This [appellate] court “is vested with all the power and authority necessary for carrying into complete execution all of its judgments, decrees, orders, and determinations in the matters before it.” § 35.08, Fla. Stat. (2015). “No principle of appellate jurisdiction is more firmly established than the one which provides that a trial court utterly lacks the power to deviate from the terms of an appellate mandate.” Mendelson v. Mendelson, 341 So. 2d 811, 813-14 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). That is, “upon the issuance of our mandate, the trial court is without authority to take any action other than to compose an order carrying out the terms of the mandate.” City of Miami Beach v. Arthree, Inc., 300 So. 2d 65, 67 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). The trial court must execute the mandate without variance or examination; it may not review the mandate — “even for apparent error” — or grant any additional or further relief. Rinker Materials Corp. v. Holloway Materials Corp., 175 So. 2d 564, 565 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965) (quoting In re Sanford Fork & Tool Co., 160 U.S. 247, 255 (1895)). Further, “any motion or petition to vary the judgment of this court may not be entertained without the express permission of this court to do so.” Arthree, 300 So. 2d at 67.

Florida Digestive Health Specialists, supra. 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

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I have discussed the hearsay rule (the evidentiary exclusionary rule and the numerous exceptions) ad nauseam and will continue to do so because it is such an important aspect of a civil trial. There will invariably be an objection under the hearsay rule during trial. The trial court will either sustain the objection or overrule the objection, perhaps under an exception to the hearsay rule.

What if a trial court makes a mistake—it happens—and overrules a hearsay objection and admits hearsay evidence? As previously mentioned, an appellate court will review the admission of evidence under an abuse of discretion standard of review, limited by Florida’s rules of evidence.

In Johnson v. State, 2016 WL 446889 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)—yes, a criminal case—a defendant argued that the trial court erred in overruling a hearsay objection and admitting hearsay evidence / testimony. During the trial, the defendant objected when the responding police officer was asked to testify how the victim and the victim’s friend described the defendant. The trial court overruled this objection and the officer was allowed to testify. The appellate court correctly found that this testimony was hearsay as it was offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted–that the defendant was involved in the crime. There was not a hearsay exception that would otherwise allow the officer to recount the victim and the victim’s friend’s description of the defendant.

Unfortunately for the defendant, the trial court’s error was harmless. So, yes, the trial court erred by allowing the officer to offer hearsay testimony, but the error was deemed harmless error. If the error is harmless, then the appellate court will affirm the trial court. Remember, just because a trial court commits error during the course of the trial does not mean the error will result in a new trial or a reversal.

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

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