Warner , J. The issue presented in this case is one of first impression involving section 768.28(5), Florida Statutes (2010), waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions. That statute limits to $200,000 the amount of liability of the state or its subdivisions for all claims or judgments "arising out of the same incident or occurrence." 1 This underlying suit was brought by the fathers of children killed and injured by their stepfather on one murderous night. The fathers claimed...
Kelsey , J. We affirm William Lee's convictions and sentences for two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of shooting or throwing deadly missiles, and tampering with evidence. We write only to address the unpreserved argument that the trial judge departed from the role of a neutral arbiter and thereby vitiated the fairness of the trial. Judges' Involvement At Trial It has long been the law that "Every litigant, including the State in criminal cases, is entitled to nothing...
LOGUE , J. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company appeals the final judgment entered in favor of Diane Schleider, the wife and personal representative of the Estate of Andrew Schleider, and Suzanne LeMehaute, their daughter. We affirm and write only to address R.J. Reynolds' challenge to the closing arguments and the size of the damage awards. Background Andrew Schleider, a cigarette smoker, died from lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His wife sued R.J. Reynolds for wrongful...
ON MOTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION, REHEARING, REHEARING EN BANC AND CERTIFICATION OF CONFLICT OR QUESTION OF GREAT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE Forst , J. We deny Appellants' motion for clarification and rehearing en banc and Appellee's motion for rehearing, rehearing en banc, and certification of conflict or question of great public importance. We nonetheless withdraw our previously issued opinion and substitute the following. Appellants Mark and Barbara Sacks appeal a final summary judgment of...
Per Curiam . John Teehan appeals a final summary judgment dismissing his Federal Employers' Liability Act action, see 45 U.S.C. 51, in favor of Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C. The trial court found that the statute of limitations barred Teehan's claim because he knew or should have known that he was injured more than three years before he filed suit. See 45 U.S.C. 56. We find a factual dispute as to when Teehan should have discovered his injury that precludes summary judgment on...
SUAREZ , J. The minor children, C.H.-C., L.H.-C., B.H.-C., T.H.-C., and M.H.-C., by and through their court-appointed Attorney ad Litem, petition for writ of certiorari seeking to quash the order of the trial court granting the Miami Herald access to a redacted transcript of a judicial review hearing. We conclude that the Herald has met the statutory requirement of demonstrating to the trial court that it has a proper interest in reviewing the dependency hearing transcript or recording....
Per Curiam . Affirmed. Fla. R. App. P. 9.315(a). Conner, Forst and Kuntz, JJ., concur.
LOGUE , J. Danay Puebla Llanos and Alan Llanos, a married couple, petition this Court for a writ of certiorari quashing two identical orders requiring them to submit their minor child to a paternity test to determine whether Respondent, Karel Santos Huerta, is the biological father. For the reasons below, we grant the petition and quash the orders. Background Mr. Llanos and Ms. Llanos separately filed suit for protection from stalking against Mr. Santos pursuant to section 741.30,...
LAGOA , J. ON MOTION TO DISMISS Appellee Lisvan L. Cruz Clemente ("Cruz") moves to dismiss Appellant Ultra Aviation Services, Inc.'s ("Ultra"), appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Specifically, Cruz argues that Ultra's appeal is premature, as the trial court continues to exercise jurisdiction over three related claims pled by Cruz that involve the Miami-Dade Living Wage Ordinance (the "LWO"), codified in Section 2-8.9 of the Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances. We deny Cruz's motion to...
SALTER , J. Coventry Health Care of Florida, Inc. ("Coventry"), appeals a circuit court order denying Coventry's motion to compel arbitration. Coventry sought arbitration of putative class action claims brought against Coventry by the appellee, 206 Golden, LLC ("206 Golden"). For the reasons which follow, we affirm the trial court order denying the motion. It is undisputed that 206 Golden is not the same entity that entered into a participating provider agreement ("Agreement") with...
PER CURIAM . Petition dismissed. See Reeves v. Fleetwood Homes of Fla., Inc. , 889 So.2d 812 , 822 (Fla. 2004) (holding that "to obtain a writ of certiorari, there must exist (1) a departure from the essential requirements of the law, (2) resulting in material injury for the remainder of the case (3) that cannot be corrected on postjudgment appeal") (quoting Bd. of Regents v. Snyder , 826 So.2d 382 , 387 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)). See also Williams v. Oken , 62 So.3d 1129 , 1132 (Fla. 2011) (...
Bilbrey , J. In these consolidated appeals, Appellants challenge final summary judgments in favor of Appellee Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in Appellants' respective suits for breach of contract and other causes of action after Appellants' employment agreements were terminated without cause prior to the expiration dates specified in the agreements. We find, based on the expressed terms of the agreements and reading the agreements and incorporated regulations as a...
FERNANDEZ , J. In these consolidated appeals, defendants, Florida Recovery Adjusters, LLC (FRA) and Oscar Valdes (Valdes) (collectively, the appellants) appeal two final default judgments entered ex-parte by the trial court against them and in favor of plaintiff, Pretium Homes, LLC (Pretium). We affirm the March 17, 2017 ex parte Final Default Judgment in Garnishment as to Chase Bank. With regard to the January 25, 2017 ex parte Final Default Judgment, we affirm its entry as to the breach...
DECISION WITHOUT PUBLISHED OPINION Dismissed.
