DARIO MISTRI, INDIVIDUALLY, ET AL., APPELLANT,
v.
JOSEPH RUTIGLIANO & SONS, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2002-10-11
No. 5D01-2242
PETERSON and SAWAYA, JJ., concur.
827 So. 2d 391 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2002) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

Appellants Mistri and San Remo Speciality Foods appealed a judgment for an unpaid invoice, arguing the trial court erred in excluding a document allegedly showing the ordered products were delivered to a different company (Crisci's Italian Foods) rather than to them. The Fifth District affirmed, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the late-disclosed, undisclosed document.


Holding

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the document. Although Appellants argue they could not have produced the document earlier because Crisci did not provide it to them until the day before trial, this does not mitigate the procedural prejudice to Rutigliano from the late disclosure, particularly given the document's dubious authenticity.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court has broad discretion in admitting evidence not disclosed in pretrial discovery or as required by a pretrial order.

[2] A trial court abuses its discretion when its judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable.

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Key Quotes

“A trial court has wide discretion in determining whether to admit the testimony of a witness or the introduction of an exhibit not disclosed pursuant to a pretrial order.”

Establishes the legal standard of review for trial court decisions to exclude undisclosed evidence.

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Facts & Procedural History

Rutigliano, an Italian food importer, obtained a judgment against Mistri and San Remo Speciality Foods for an unpaid invoice in the amount of $20,971.…

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Opinion of the Court
ORFINGER, R.B., J.

Appellants, Dario Mistri and San Remo Speciality Foods, Inc., appeal a final judgment entered in favor of Appellee, Joseph Rutigliano & Sons, Inc., an importer of Italian food, in the amount of $20,971.64. Appellants primary contention on appeal is that the trial judge erred in excluding a document, allegedly generated by Rutigli-ano, demonstrating that the food products that were the subject of Rutigliano’s unpaid invoice were ordered by, and delivered to, Crisci’s Italian Foods, Inc. rather than Appellants.1 Because we find no abuse of discretion in the trial judge’s decision to exclude the document that had not been disclosed during pretrial discovery or as required by the trial court’s pretrial order, we affirm.

A trial court has wide discretion in determining whether to admit the testimony of a witness or the introduction of an exhibit not disclosed pursuant to a pretrial order. Binger v. King Pest Control, 401 So. 2d 1310, 1313-14 (Fla.1981). “Discretion, in this sense, is abused when the judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable, which is another way of saying that discretion is abused only where no reasonable man would take the view adopted by the trial court. If reasonable men could differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.” Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1203 (Fla.1980).

In the instant case, the document, of dubious authenticity, was not produced by Appellants during pretrial discovery, as requested by Rutigliano, nor was it listed as an exhibit by Appellants, as required by the court’s pretrial order. Appellants argue that because Crisci did not provide them with the document until the day before the trial, they could not produce or list it earlier. While that may be true, we find that argument unavailing because it does not mitigate the procedural prejudice accruing to Rutigliano arising from the late disclosure of the document under the facts of this case.2 See Tomlinson-McKenzie v. Prince, 718 So. 2d 394, 396 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (citing Binger, 401 So. 2d at 1314).

Because we do not find that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding the undisclosed document and find no merit in the other issues raised by Appellants, the judgment is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

PETERSON and SAWAYA, JJ., concur. . Appellants and Crisci shared a warehouse where they stored food, and both made food purchases from Rutigliano. Crisci filed for bankruptcy protection, and was not a party to this action.

. This is particularly true given the trial judge's obvious scepticism regarding the authenticity of the document.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Kellner v. David, 140 So. 3d 1042 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014)
    …e pretrial order We have previously granted trial courts wide discretion in determining whether to admit the testimony of a witness or other evidence not disclosed pursu [*1048] ant to a pretrial order. See Mistri v. Joseph Rutigliano & Sons, Inc., 827 So. 2d 391, 392 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (affirming trial court’s exclusion of a document “of dubious authenticity” that was not produced in discovery or listed by the appellants as required by the court’s pretrial order). A party can claim surprise and a trial cou…
  • …difying a parenting plan is reviewed for an abuse of discretion.” (quoting 1 This case was transferred from the Fifth District Court of Appeal to this Court on January 1, 2023. Schot, 273 So. 3d at 50.)); Mistri v. Joseph Rutigliano & Sons, Inc., 827 So. 2d 391, 392 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (“If reasonable [persons] could differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.” (quoting Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197, 1203 (F…

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