AMERICARE BIOLOGICALS, INC., AND AMERICARE TRANSTECH, INC., APPELLANTS,
v.
TECHNICAL CHEMICALS & PRODUCTS, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION, JACK L. ARONOWITZ, HENRY B. SCHUR, ANALYTE DIAGNOSTICS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, JOHN H. FARO, SIMPLEX MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC., NICHOLAS G. LEVANDOSKI, JOSEPH D'ANGELO, AND INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
ABI and ATI appealed from the trial court's denial of injunctive relief in a trade secret misappropriation case, despite a jury verdict finding that Simplex and Analyte misappropriated the trade secret. The appeal was dismissed as untimely because the motion for rehearing was served one day late.
The motion for rehearing was untimely because it was served on February 9, 1999, one day after the ten-day deadline computed from the judgment's filing on January 26, 1999. Because the motion did not toll the time for filing the notice of appeal, the appeal was dismissed as untimely.
[1] A motion for rehearing directed at the denial of injunctive relief in a non-jury action must be served within ten days after the filing of the judgment.
[2] The timely service of a motion for rehearing tolls the time for filing a notice of appeal.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A motion ... for rehearing shall be served not later than 10 days after ... the date of filing of the judgment in a non-jury action”
Establishes the procedural requirement for timely filing a motion for rehearing in non-jury trials
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceABI and ATI sued Simplex Medical Systems and Analyte Diagnostics for misappropriation of a trade secret and tortious interference with a business rela…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Computation Of Time cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Americare Biologieals, Inc. (“ABI”) and Americare Transtech, Inc. (“ATI”) sued Simplex Medical Systems (“Simplex”) and Analyte Diagnostics, Inc. (“Analyte”), among other defendants, for misappropriation of a trade secret and tortious interference with a business relationship. They sought damages as well as injunctive relief under Chapter 688, Florida Statutes. After the jury returned a verdict finding that Simplex and Analyte misappropriated the trade secret, ABI and ATI moved the trial court for injunctive relief. The court denied the motion and entered the final judgment for damages. ABI and ATI then filed a motion for rehearing directed at that portion of the final judgment, which failed to include the injunctive relief. The court denied the motion for rehearing. They now appeal from the denial of injunctive relief.
Our review of the record shows that appellants’ motion for rehearing was untimely. The motion was directed at that portion of the case that was tried non-jury, whether or not to grant injunctive relief. Therefore, the motion had to be “served” within ten days after the filing of the judgment. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.530(b) (“A motion ... for rehearing shall be served not later than 10 days after ... the date of filing of the judgment in a non-jury action”); Dominguez v. Barakat, 609 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). Although it was entered on January 25, 1999, the final judgment was actually filed with the clerk on January 26, 1999 at 3:44 p.m. Applying Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(a) regarding the computation of time, ABI and ATI had until Monday, February 8, 1999 to serve the motion for rehearing. The service on Tuesday, February 9, 1999 was, therefore, untimely and did not toll the time for filing the notice of appeal. See Fla. R.App. P. 9.020(i). Accordingly, we dismiss their appeal as untimely.1
DISMISSED.
DELL, POLEN, and GROSS, JJ., concur. . In dismissing their appeal, we reject their argument that the motion for rehearing should be deemed a motion for relief from judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(2). Our review of the record shows that the motion did not allege, as a basis for the relief requested, the existence of newly discovered evidence. Even if it did, the motion still would not have tolled the time for filing an appeal from the final judgment on the grounds as argued in appellants’ brief. As stated in Herskowitz v. Herskowitz, 513 So. 2d 1318 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), review denied, 525 So. 2d 878 (Fla.1988):
[Tjhe law is well settled that a trial court is restricted in vacating a final judgment under Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.540 to the narrow grounds stated therein, and is not empowered to revisit a final judgment on the merits so as to correct errors of law as the trial court may do on a motion for rehearing under Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.530.
Id. at 1319.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Dann v. Dann, 24 So. 3d 791 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)…on-jury action.” In sum, a motion for rehearing served in a civil ease more than ten (10) days from the entry of judgment is insufficient to extend the date of rendition of judgment. E.g., American Biologicals, Inc. v. Technical Chem. & Prod., Inc., 766 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (holding a motion for rehearing did not toll the running of the appeal time because it was not served as required by rule 1.530(b) within ten days of filing the judgment); Migliore v. Migliore, 717 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…
-
Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. of Conn. v. Sealey, 810 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)…Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (untimely motion to alter or amend); Bailey v. Mobile Home Park Realty, Inc., 579 So. 2d 198, 199, 200 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991) (untimely motion in arrest of judgment); Americare Biologicals, Inc. v. Technical Chemicals & Products, Inc., 766 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (untimely motion for rehearing); see also Howard v. Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 467 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); White v. State, 416 So. 2d 39 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). Hence, a motion that is untimely does not toll the time for an appeal…
Authorities Cited
- Dominguez v. Barakat, 609 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- Herskowitz v. Herskowitz, 513 So. 2d 1318 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)