23 May

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Accurate Jury Instructions are Important

Accurate jury instructions that are read to a jury are important. This is because accurate jury instructions help a jury properly resolve issues important to the case. “A decision to give or withhold a jury instruction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion.” Vainberg v. Avatar Property & Casualty Ins. Co., 46 Fla. L.Weekly D1141d (Fla. 4th DCA 2021). In Vainberg, the trial judge refused to give a jury instruction requested by the plaintiff. The case involved a property insurance dispute where the insurer, pursuant to the terms of the property insurance policy, elected to perform the repairs. After the insurer’s contractor...

27 March

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Appealing a Discovery Order Requiring the Production of Work Product

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Discovery

A party moves for a petition for a writ of certiorari when appealing a discovery order. “To obtain a writ of certiorari, the petitioner must establish that the discovery order was a departure from the essential requirements of law resulting in a material injury that will affect the remainder of the proceedings below and the injury cannot be corrected on appeal.” Onward Living Recovery Community, LLC v. Mormeneo, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D637a (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). One example of “material injury,” otherwise referred to as “irreparable harm” is when the trial court orders the production of work product material (protected material prepared...

20 February

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Dismissal due to Fraud on the Court Post-Jury Verdict — Not Soooooo Fast

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Standard of Review, Trial Perspectives

Oftentimes, people use the term “fraud on the court” without truly recognizing the difficulties in getting a case dismissed--the harshest of sanctions--especially in a circumstance where the jury already rendered a verdict. Upon learning of the facts supporting “fraud on the court,” the appropriate motions should be filed during the course of the case because there are a number of remedies that can be employed short of dismissing a case with prejudice. While in appellate court will review a dismissal due to fraud on the court under an abuse of discretion standard of review, this does not mean that a trial...

07 November

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57.105 Motion for Sanctions

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal

In prior postings, I discussed Florida Statute s. 57.105, which provides a statutory basis to serve a motion to seek attorney’s fees against another party (and even their counsel) if they are pursuing frivolous (bad faith) claims, motions, or defenses, or taking action for purposes of unreasonable delay. While this is not a motion I personally like to file, the recent Third District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Lanson v. Reid, 45 Fla. L. Weekly D2479a (Fla. 3d DCA 2020), discusses two important aspects of what is commonly known as a 57.105 motion for sanctions. Any party considering this type...

22 August

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Evidentiary Hearing Warranted before Compelling Non-Signatories to Arbitration

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Trial Perspectives

With the current post-COVID-19 state of affairs with the judicial system, there is attraction to arbitrating disputes as an efficient means to dispute resolution. Arbitration is a creature of contract and is a binding method to resolve a dispute outside of the judicial system. Just because there may be an agreement to arbitrate a dispute does not mean parties will concede that their particular dispute falls within the scope of the contractual arbitration provision. A party may still prefer to litigate certain disputes and preserve the right to appeal the outcome, a right which does not exist in arbitration. There...

23 May

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Appealing a Protective Order that Precludes You from Deposing Material Witness

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Depositions

In a recent article, I discussed that if you are appealing a discovery order, you are doing so through a petition for a writ of certiorari. I further discussed that this was not an easy appeal, and typically, it is not an easy appeal. But, what about the scenario where the trial court precludes you from taking a deposition of a material witness? For instance, say you want to take a witness’ deposition and the opposing side moves for a protective order to prevent that deposition from going forward. Say the trial court agrees with the opposing party and grants...

10 May

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Appeal of Discovery Order — Not so Easy!

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Discovery

In litigation, there will be disputes as to the scope and perceived relevance of discovery (e.g., scope of document production, depositions, and interrogatory answers). It may not occur in every case, but it will occur. There is no such thing as discovery orders always going in your favor. Not possible. Some discovery orders entered against you are understandable. Others lead to a certain amount of frustration. And, others leave you with consternation such that you feel that you need to appeal based on the perceived prejudice. The appeal of a discovery order, however, is through a petition for writ of...

23 February

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Evidentiary Hearing when Lis Pendens NOT based on Duly Recorded Instrument

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Trial Perspectives

A lis pendens serves as a cloud against real property. A lis pendens will be recorded by a plaintiff when there is a dispute concerning affected real property. A party may record a lis pendens if it is foreclosing on a mortgage or lien or if the lawsuit simply pertains to the real property. If a lawsuit is NOT based on a duly recorded instrument such as a mortgage or a lien, a defendant should move to discharge the lis pendens and/or require the plaintiff to post a lis pendens bond to cover the defendant’s damages if the lis pendens...

14 December

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Deficient Jury Instruction could Amount to Reversible Error

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal

In a recent case, Cooper v. Federated National Insurance Company, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D2961a (Fla. 5th DCA 2019), involving an insured suing their property insurer for bad faith, discussed in more detail here, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the insurer and against the insured. The insured appealed arguing that the trial court’s bad faith jury instruction amounted to reversible error. The trial court refused to present to the jury the jury instruction drafted by the insured and instead went with a standard form bad faith jury instruction. The appellate court agreed that the standard form jury...

24 November

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Code Enforcement Board Appeal

Posted by David Adelstein

in Appeal, Standard of Review

If you have ever been in front of an enforcement board (such as a code enforcement board or have received a final order relating to a code enforcement issue), you may be familiar with your appellate rights under Florida Statute s. 162.11: An aggrieved party, including the local governing body, may appeal a final administrative order of an enforcement board to the circuit court. Such an appeal shall not be a hearing de novo but shall be limited to appellate review of the record created before the enforcement board. An appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the execution of...