HOLMES REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC., PETITIONER,
v.
THOMAS E. ROSE, M.D., RESPONDENT
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Holmes Regional Medical Center sought certiorari review of a trial court's order disqualifying its counsel (Holland & Knight) based on an alleged conflict of interest arising from an attorney's prior representation of an entity in which the opposing party (Dr. Rose) held an interest. The appellate court granted the petition and quashed the disqualification order, finding the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order after a notice of appeal had been filed.
The trial court did not have jurisdiction to rule on the motion to disqualify because the notice of appeal divested it of authority to take action affecting the subject matter of the appeal. Therefore, the disqualification order entered after the notice of appeal was a nullity and was quashed.
[1] A trial court loses jurisdiction to rule on a motion to disqualify counsel once a notice of appeal has been filed.
[2] An order of disqualification entered by a trial court after a notice of appeal has been filed is a nullity.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The trial court lost jurisdiction at the time the notice of appeal was filed and the order of disqualification entered after that time was a nullity.”
Establishes the primary holding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the disqualification motion after notice of appeal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAttorney Cynthia Mikos, while at Jacobs, Forlizzo & Silverstein, represented Cardiology Specialists in a class action tax challenge. Dr. Rose was a co…
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PETERSON, Judge.
Holmes Regional Medical Center, Inc. (HRMC), seeks certiorari review of the trial court’s order disqualifying Holland & Knight, LLP, (H & K), as its counsel in a suit brought by Thomas E. Rose, M.D., who sought relief against HRMC for suspending his staff privileges. We grant the petition and quash the order of disqualification.
The disqualification issue arose when attorney Cynthia Mikos became an associate of H & K. Mikos had previously been an associate of Jacobs, Forlizzo & Silverstein, P.A., (JFS), and had represented Cardiology Specialists, P.A., along with a number of other entities, in a class action challenging the tax assessments of the Agency for Health Care Administration. The respondent, Dr. Rose, was a co-shareholder of Cardiology Specialists when it entered into an agreement on September 25, 1995, to retain Mikos and her firm to represent it in the class action. Although Dr. Rose withdrew from Cardiology Specialists on June 3, 1997, he notified counsel that he continued to claim an interest in the class action. Several weeks later, Mikos advised Cardiology Specialists that she had joined H&K. Dr. Rose then moved, in his lawsuit against HRMC, to disqualify Mikos and H & K, as attorneys for HRMC and the trial court granted the motion.
We grant HRMC’s petition because the trial court did not have jurisdiction to rule on the motion to disqualify. The motion to disqualify was heard after Dr. Rose’s complaint was dismissed with prejudice, and after a notice of appeal of the dismissal had been filed.1 The trial court lost jurisdiction at the time the notice of appeal was filed and the order of disqualification entered after that time was a nullity. See generally Liberman v. Rhyne, 248 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 252 So. 2d 798 (Fla.1971) (trial court has no authority after notice of appeal has been filed to change status of case, interfere with rights of parties or take any action affecting the subject matter of the appeal and may only make corrections to record).
PETITION GRANTED, ORDER OF DISQUALIFICATION QUASHED.
GOSHORN and HARRIS, JJ., concur. . At the hearing on the motion to disqualify, Dr. Rose testified that he considered himself personally to be a client of Mikos and that he revealed financial information to her regarding billings of his personal practice when he was associated with Cardiology Specialists. The trial court found, however, that any knowledge that Mikos may have had regarding Dr. Rose's financial matters was never disclosed to H & K.
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Kluck v. Cloninger, 39 So. 3d 1277 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)…nting Personal Representative (self-proved).” The trial court lost jurisdiction when the notice of appeal was filed, and the order of disqualification entered during the pendency of the appeal was a nullity. See Holmes Reg’l Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Rose, 721 So. 2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). Therefore, the petition for certiorari is granted, and the January 4, 2010, order disqualifying petitioner’s attorney is quashed. PETITION GRANTED, ORDER OF DISQUALIFICATION QUASHED. PALMER, COHEN and JACOBUS, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Haskell Liberman and Leatrice Liberman v. Rhyne, 248 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971)
- Haskell Liberman v. Rhyne, 252 So. 2d 798 (Fla. 1971)
- S. Convalescent Home & R. P. Hewitt & Assocs. v. John Wilson & the Fla. Dep't of Commerce, 252 So. 2d 798 (Fla. 1971)