CONNER, J. Ronald Redini appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence of his possession of child pornography seized pursuant to a search warrant. The primary legal issue presented by this appeal is whether information supplied to law enforcement by Redini's roommate was sufficient for the issuance of a search warrant. Redini contends the information supplied by his roommate was not sufficiently reliable to show probable cause to search. Redini also contends the affidavit in support of...
POLEN, J. Philip Morris USA, Inc. (PM USA) appeals the final judgment, awarding appellee, Lucinda Naugle, $36,760,500, after finding PM USA liable for Naugle's injuries caused by her addiction to PM USA-manufactured cigarettes. PM USA raises five issues on appeal. We reject each of appellant's contentions of error and affirm the judgment in its entirety. As an Engle 1 -progeny case, the trial was conducted in two phases in the manner we approved of in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Brown,...
PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. LEWIS, WETHERELL, and MAKAR, JJ., CONCUR. NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED.
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See State v. Adkins, 96 So.3d 412 (Fla.2012); Maestas v. State, 76 So.3d 991 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). WARNER, GROSS and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
PER CURIAM. Because the trial judge should have disqualified himself, we grant the petition for writ of prohibition. We conclude that the motion for disqualification was legally sufficient, and that the trial judge's comments were such that the facts alleged would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial. See Livingston v. State, 441 So.2d 1083 , 1087 (Fla.1983). Once a basis for disqualification has been established, prohibition is both an...
WALLACE, Judge. Marlene L. Sloan was the trustee of a trust created under the will of Donald E. Hemphill. She appeals a final judgment requiring her to pay the trust the sum of $3,226,044.99 1 for an alleged breach of trust and for the payment of excessive trustee's fees and attorney's fees. 2 Because the final judgment is not supported by competent, substantial evidence, we reverse. I. INTRODUCTION The focus of this appeal is the sale by Ms. Sloan, in her capacity as trustee, of a trust...
POLEN, J. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Both parties stipulate that the facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff, a registered Republican, filed suit seeking to "open" the Democratic Party's primary election for the office of Broward County Commissioner for District 7. The plaintiff relies on the Universal Primary Amendment ("UPA"), which amended Art. VI, 5 of the Florida Constitution to read: "If all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the...
ORFINGER, C.J. Rocka Fuerta Construction, Inc. ("Rocka") appeals the final order dismissing its complaint against Southwick, Inc. as a sanction. We reverse the order of dismissal, but dismiss, as premature, the appeal of the order granting sanctions pursuant to section 57.105, Florida Statutes (2010). Rocka completed several projects for Southwick. A dispute regarding payment arose between them that was resolved when they entered into a settlement agreement ("Settlement Agreement"), which...
NORTHCUTT, Judge. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation insured a home owned by Nicholas, Emmanuel, and Amalia Makryllos. The Makrylloses filed an insurance claim for damages to the property, and when it was not resolved to their satisfaction, they filed suit against Citizens. The court eventually entered summary judgment in Citizens' favor based on the insureds' failure to provide a timely proof of loss. We reverse. The events underlying this lawsuit began in early 2006 when rain allegedly...
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING JACOBUS, J. We deny Association Casualty Insurance Company's ("the Association") timely motion for rehearing but withdraw our previous opinion and substitute the following. Frank Gay and Frank Gay Plumbing, Inc. timely appeal an order entering final summary judgment against them in favor of the Association. Summary judgment was entered after the trial court found there was no uninsured motorist coverage available to Mr. Gay under the terms and conditions of the policy...
PER CURIAM. Appellant Talton McQuitter challenges the denial of a post-conviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief stating that it could not "conclude that the failure to present these witnesses' testimony would have changed the outcome or the verdict in this case." Because it is not clear whether the court correctly applied the prejudice standard of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104...
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); see also Nelson v. State, 875 So.2d 579 , 583 (Fla.2004) ("Under the circumstances of this case, a defendant would be required to allege what testimony defense counsel could have elicited from witnesses and how defense counsel's failure to call, interview, or present the witnesses who would have so testified prejudiced the case.").
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge. This is an appeal from an order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse. The plaintiff is a composer and recording artist who attempted to assert Florida long-arm jurisdiction, 48.193(1)(a), (1)(g), (2), Fla. Stat., over the appellant, a Venezuelan corporation, which operates an independent music company and record label. The action arises out of a series of contracts, executed in Venezuela, which provided that they were to be...
CORTI AS, J. Appellants, 13 Parcels, LLC, 46 NE 10th, LLC, 44 NW 11th LLC, 700 NE 1st, LLC, (collectively "appellant entities") and Arthur Falcone ("Falcone"), were defendants in separate foreclosure actions by IberiaBank ("Iberia Lawsuits"). 1 The Iberia Lawsuits were premised upon notes that had been executed by each of the appellant entities and were each secured by a mortgage on a specific property. Falcone 2 and appellee, Edie Laquer ("Laquer"), executed personal guarantees in...
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Applegate v. Barnett Bank of Tallahassee, 377 So.2d 1150 , 1152 (Fla.1979)("When there are issues of fact the appellant necessarily asks the reviewing court to draw conclusions about the evidence. Without a record of the trial proceedings, the appellate court cannot properly resolve the underlying factual issues so as to conclude that the trial court's judgment is not supported by the evidence or by an alternative theory."); see also Fla. R.App. P. 9.200(b)(4) (...
SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge. As a result of an incident on May 17, 2010, in which the defendant-appellee struck his wife with a hot iron leaving a permanent burn mark on her leg, he was charged with one count of simple battery and two of aggravated battery. Before trial, however, the defendant entered into a bargain in which he pled to one count of simple battery and one count of aggravated battery in return for a withhold of adjudication and — although the sentencing guidelines for the charges...
PER CURIAM. DISMISSED. Appellants' request that the appeal be stayed until such time that appellee obtains a final order is denied. See Demont v. Demont, 24 So.3d 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)(dismissing appeal rather than allowing lower court to enter a final order where an indeterminate amount of judicial labor remained to be done before a final order could be entered). PADOVANO, MARSTILLER, and SWANSON, JJ., concur.
COHEN, J. James Robinson appeals from the final judgment entered in favor of CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSX"), in his action brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA") 1 after the train on which he was working was involved in a collision. On appeal, he argues the trial court erred by excluding evidence of CSX's failure to provide him with certain safety tools with which to perform his work and by allowing CSX to impeach him with a redacted accident report. We agree and...
PER CURIAM. A client who sued his law firm for malpractice and then intervened in a declaratory judgment action between the firm and its insurer appeals from a final summary judgment allowing the insurer to rescind the insurance policy for material misrepresentations on the policy renewal application. The client argues that summary judgment was improper because: (i) genuine issues of fact existed on the elements of misrepresentation and materiality; (ii) genuine issues of fact existed as to...
