KELSEY , J. Appellant, the Sheriff of Columbia County, Florida, challenges the trial court's order denying his motion to dismiss for improper venue based on the home venue privilege. Appellees sued Appellant in his official capacity as Sheriff, as well as a deputy sheriff, for damages allegedly incurred when the deputy rear-ended Appellees' car. He was driving his duty car, on his way to work in Columbia County, and the accident occurred in neighboring Hamilton County. The amended...
WALLIS , J. Stephen Crooms ("Appellant") appeals his conviction and sentence for three counts of aggravated battery (Counts I, II, and III) and possession of a controlled substance (Count IV). Appellant argues the trial court committed fundamental error by accepting his plea of nolo contendere to Count IV. Finding that Count IV charged Appellant with a nonexistent crime, we reverse and remand with instructions to vacate Appellant's conviction and sentence as to Count IV, and affirm...
EDWARDS , J. Arnold D. Pilkington ("Petitioner"), individually and as former trustee of the Pilkington Revocable Trust, seeks review of the trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion to disqualify the then-presiding judge, Judge C. McFerrin Smith, III. In denying Petitioner's motion, Judge Smith ruled that the motion was untimely and legally insufficient; however, he also included a factual comment in the order that Petitioner argues could be construed as impermissibly passing upon the...
ORFINGER , J. New Dirt, Inc. appeals a final judgment entered on the jury's verdict finding that it breached an oral agreement with Michael Harrison. Harrison cross-appeals the trial court's reduction of the damages awarded to him based on the court's ruling that the statute of frauds barred part of his claim. We affirm in part and reverse in part. In April 2010, Michael Harrison and David Cattell co-founded New Dirt. After a business dispute arose, New Dirt brought suit against Harrison,...
PALMER , J. Yarelys Ramos appeals the trial court's summary final judgment order entered in favor of appellee, CACH, LLC, on her counterclaim alleging violation of Florida's Consumer Collection Practices Act ("FCCPA"). 1 See 559.715; 2 559.72, 3 Fla. Stat. (2010). Because no private cause of action exists for the alleged statutory violation, we affirm. 4 Ramos allegedly owed a credit card balance to FIA Card Services, N.A. FIA assigned its rights against Ramos to CACH. Two...
PER CURIAM . In this residential foreclosure case, CitiMortgage, Inc., Successor by Merger to ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. ("Citi") appeals a final judgment in favor of Laurie and Randy Decker ("Borrowers"). Citi correctly argues that the trial court erred by entering judgment for Borrowers at the outset of trial based on Citi's failure to attach to its complaint the full version of the promissory note that it intended to rely on at trial. Alternatively, the trial court should have granted...
EDWARDS , J. Mid-Continent Casualty Company ("MCC") appeals the trial court's final judgment in favor of James and Angeline Treace ("the Treaces") which determined that the damages awarded to the Treaces in a prior construction defect action were recoverable under MCC's commercial general liability ("CGL") policy. The Treaces successfully sued the contractor that built their home for the cost to access and repair water damage caused by faulty construction. The jury in the construction...
PER CURIAM . Russell Insko was committed under the Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act (the Act) on August 5, 2008, following his no contest plea to the charge of lewd and lascivious conduct for soliciting a person under sixteen years old. Mr. Insko appealed the order of involuntary civil commitment; his appellate counsel filed an Anders 1 brief; and this court affirmed. In re Commitment of Insko, 29 So.3d 1127 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (table decision). In June...
PER CURIAM . Affirmed. See Alvarado-Fernandez v. Mazoff, 151 So.3d 8 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). GROSS, MAY and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
SALTER , J. Chase Home Finance, LLC ("Chase"), appeals an order dismissing its mortgage foreclosure complaint without prejudice and an order denying rehearing following the dismissal. Finding that Chase was prejudiced by differing rulings at and after a non-jury trial of the case (because of the reassignment of the case to a different judge), and that the dismissal was erroneous, we reverse and remand the case for further proceedings. The five-year procedural history of the case in the...
SHEPHERD , J. This is another in a series of cases in which an unaccompanied minor, who illegally crossed the border of the United States, seeks an order finding him or her dependent under Chapter 39 of the Florida Statutes, for the sole purpose of helping the child obtain legal residency in the United States. We previously have affirmed trial court denials of dependency in six similar cases. See In the Interest of F.J.G.M., ___ So.3d ___, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D1908 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug. 12,...
PER CURIAM . Affirmed. In re B.R.C.M., 3D15-962, 2015 WL 9584743 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec. 30, 2015); In re B.Y.G.M., 176 So.3d 290 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015); In re K.B.L.V., 176 So.3d 297 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015). LOGUE, J., concur. SALTER , J. (dissenting). I respectfully dissent. E.P.N.'s "private petition" for dependency, filed on behalf of an undocumented, seventeen-year-old immigrant, warrants individualized consideration and adjudication rather than summary denial. E.P.N.'s petition seeks...
PER CURIAM . Affirmed. See Kelly v. Bank United, F.S.B., 159 So.3d 403 , 406-07 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).
SUAREZ , C.J. Citizen's Property Insurance Corporation ("Citizens") appeals a Final Judgment for Plaintiff's Attorney's Fees and Costs entered in favor of Appellee Dolores Pulloquinga in connection with her first-party property damage claim. Citizens challenges the Final Judgment on three grounds: the trial court's application of a multiplier of 1.5; the taxation of fees for travel time; and the award of costs for a back-up expert and for travel expenses. We affirm the application of the...
WOLF , J. Appellants, who are Inspector General Investigators for the Florida Department of Corrections (the Department), challenge the trial court's final order dismissing their complaint with prejudice for lack of standing. We affirm because appellants failed to raise their arguments in their initial brief, as discussed further below. Facts Appellants' complaint alleged they were improperly required by the Department to sign two separate confidentiality agreements or face discipline...
PER CURIAM . AFFIRMED. See Clark v. State, 783 So.2d 967 (Fla.2001). COHEN, BERGER and WALLIS, JJ., concur.
LOGUE , J. The City of Miami Beach seeks certiorari review of an order by the circuit court in its appellate capacity, which awarded attorneys' fees to Respondent. 1 The order was the first ruling on the question of attorneys' fees. Properly viewed, our proceeding is not the second, but rather the first tier of appellate review. See Ramirez v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 67 So.3d 1174 , 1175-76 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) ("Because the order denying appellate fees was the first ruling on the...
VILLANTI , Chief Judge . Leichester Trust, Trust Number 1920 (the Trust) appeals an order denying its motion to vacate an order denying rehearing that the Trust never received. The effect of the denial of the motion to vacate was to preclude the Trust from appealing the final judgment of foreclosure entered in favor of Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) due to a clerical error by the court. The Trust also appeals the order denying its motion to stay issuance of the...
