TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY OF AMERICA, PETITIONER,
v.
ORLINE M. SIDMAN, AS PLENARY GUARDIAN OF PHYLLIS ANN KIRKWOOD; CULBREATH ISLES PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.; NANCY LEWIS AND RICHARD B. LEWIS, INDIVIDUALLY; AND SAADE CHIBANI, AS CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LOT OWNERS SIMILARLY SITUATED IN THE CULBREATH ISLE SUBDIVISION, RESPONDENTS
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.
Travelers Casualty and Surety Company sought certiorari review of a circuit court's denial of its motion to dismiss an amended third-party complaint filed by a guardian. The Florida District Court of Appeal converted the petition to one for a writ of prohibition and granted it, holding that the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by allowing the third-party complaint to be filed after entry of a consent judgment and expiration of the time for filing a motion for rehearing.
The circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by allowing the third-party complaint to proceed after the consent judgment was entered and the rehearing period expired. A writ of prohibition is the appropriate remedy because the court acted in excess of its jurisdiction. The amended third-party complaint is a nullity, though the guardian may file an independent indemnification action against Travelers.
[1] A circuit court exceeds its jurisdiction by allowing the filing of a third-party complaint after a final judgment has been entered and the time for filing a rehearing has…
[2] A writ of prohibition is an appropriate remedy when a circuit court acts in excess of its jurisdiction.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“The rule is firmly established in this State that the trial Court loses jurisdiction of a cause after a judgment or final decree has been entered and the time for filing petition for rehearing or motion for new trial has expired or same has been denied.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that trial courts lack jurisdiction to allow new pleadings after entry of a final judgment and expiration of the rehearing period.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Culbreath Isles Property Owners Association filed a complaint against homeowner Kirkwood for alleged violation of deed restrictions. The circuit c…
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 Indemnity Claim cases and more on FLexlaw
Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America seeks certiorari review of the circuit court’s order denying its motion to dismiss an amended third-party complaint filed by Orline M. Sidman as plenary guardian of Phyllis Ann Kirkwood. We convert the petition to one seeking a writ of prohibition and grant the writ because the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction when it allowed Sidman to proceed on the amended third-party complaint.
The proceedings below began in October 2008 when Culbreath Isles Property Owners Association, Inc. (the Association), filed a complaint against homeowner Kirkwood based on Kirkwood’s alleged violation of the Culbreath Isles deed restrictions. Kirkwood filed a counterclaim for slander of title. The circuit court eventually entered a partial summary judgment in favor of Kirkwood based on its finding that the deed restrictions were unenforceable. The Association filed a notice of appeal, but the parties settled the case while the appeal was pending and the appeal was dismissed. On December 29, 2010, the court entered a consent money judgment in favor of Kirk-wood. In the judgment, the court reserved jurisdiction to enforce its collection and compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement.
The Association then assigned its rights against its insurance carrier, Travelers, to Kirkwood so that Kirkwood could collect her judgment from Travelers. At some point in the proceedings, Sidman was appointed as plenary guardian of Kirkwood. In February 2011, Sidman filed a motion to amend the pleadings to add a third-party indemnification claim against Travelers pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.180.1 The circuit court granted the motion, and Sidman filed a third-party complaint which Sidman later amended. Travelers moved to dismiss the amended third-party complaint on several grounds, including that Sidman was not authorized to file a third-party claim under rule 1.180. The court denied the motion to dismiss.
Travelers filed a petition for writ of certiorari in this court challenging the denial of its motion to dismiss. In response to Travelers’ petition, Sidman argues that certiorari is not a proper remedy because the denial of the motion to dismiss will be subject to review on direct appeal when the case is concluded. We agree that cer-tiorari relief is not available.
In order to establish entitlement to certiorari relief, Travelers “must demonstrate ‘(1) a departure from the essential requirements of the law, (2) resulting in material injury for the remainder of the ease (3) that cannot be corrected on post-judgment appeal.’ ” Trucap Grantor Trust 2010-1 v. Pelt, 84 So.3d 369, 371 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (quoting Reeves v. Fleetwood Homes of Fla., Inc., 889 So.2d *902812, 822 (Fla.2004)), review denied, No. SC12-745, 2012 WL 4052061 (Fla. Sept.6, 2012). The second and third requirements are jurisdictional and must be met before the first requirement can be addressed. Id.
Generally, certiorari relief is not available from the denial of a motion to dismiss a civil complaint because the aggrieved party has a remedy in the form of a plenary appeal after entry of final judgment. See Fieselman v. State, 566 So.2d 768, 770 (Fla.1990). Travelers has not pointed to any pertinent exceptions to this general rule or argued it would be precluded from seeking postjudgment review of the order denying its motion to dismiss. Travelers alternatively requests that we treat the petition for writ of certiorari as a petition for writ of prohibition. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.040(c) (“If a party seeks an improper remedy, the cause shall be treated as if the proper remedy had been sought.... ”)• Travelers claims that a writ of prohibition is a proper remedy because the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by allowing Sidman to proceed on the amended third-party complaint at that stage in the proceedings. We agree.
A writ of prohibition may be appropriate if a circuit court acts in excess of its jurisdiction in a given case. See City of Sanibel v. Maxwell, 925 So.2d 486, 488 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); City of St. Petersburg v. Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, 422 So.2d 18, 19 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). The question becomes whether the circuit court in this case had jurisdiction to allow the filing of the amended third-party complaint after entry of the consent judgment.
“ ‘The rule is firmly established in this State that the trial Court loses jurisdiction of a cause after a judgment or final decree has been entered and the time for filing petition for rehearing or motion for new trial has expired or same has been denied.’ ” Liberty Ins. Corp. v. Milne, 98 So.3d 613, 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (quoting State ex rel. Am. Home Ins. Co. v. Seay, 355 So.2d 822, 824 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)). A circuit court therefore exceeds its jurisdiction by allowing the filing of a third-party complaint after the case has proceeded to this point of finality. See id. In this ease, the circuit court entered the consent judgment and the time for filing for rehearing had expired before Sidman sought to file a third-party complaint. Thus, the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by allowing the filing.
Sidman argues that the circuit court had jurisdiction to proceed based on its reservation of jurisdiction to enforce collection of the consent judgment. However, the amended third-party complaint is not an enforcement action against the Association on its obligation to pay under the consent judgment. Instead, the amended third-party complaint seeks relief from a third party that was not joined in the proceedings below based on its obligations under an insurance contract. The contract was not at issue in the proceedings that had taken place. The filing of a third-party complaint in these circumstances is a nullity. Milne, 98 So.3d 613 at 614.
In conclusion, the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by allowing Sidman to proceed on the amended third-party complaint after the time for filing for rehearing from the consent judgment expired. We therefore grant the petition for writ of prohibition and quash the order denying Traveler’s motion to dismiss. Our decision is without prejudice to Sidman’s filing an independent indemnification action against Travelers.
Petition granted.
WHATLEY and La ROSE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Alec Ross v. Wells Fargo Bank, 114 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…jurisdiction to allow for a supplemental complaint to add an omitted party post-judgment. In permitting such a supplemental post-judgment proceeding, the trial court acted in the absence of jurisdiction.2 Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am. v. Sidman, 103 So. 3d 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012); Damas, 31 So. 3d at 203; Patin, 459 So. 2d at 436. Therefore, the December 3, 2008 order granting Wells Fargo’s motion for leave to file a supplemental complaint to add Ross as a party, the order dismissing the re-foreclosure for…
-
Noimbie v. Harvey, 137 So. 3d 606 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…no case pending before the county court, the court lost jurisdiction to adjudicate the parties’ dispute over the amount of rent owed.2 See Boss v. Wells Fargo Bank, 114 So. 3d 256, 257 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013); Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am. v. Sidman, 103 So. 3d 900, 902 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012). The trial court dismissed the eviction lawsuit for failing to state a cause of action but nonetheless granted the landlord damages on the merits. As we wrote in a similar situation: A defendant is authorized ... to test the…
-
Bennett v. BJ'S Wholesale Club, Inc., 128 So. 3d 53 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…n for rehearing or indeed any further proceeding related to the merits of the underlying judgment,1 see Shelby Mut. Ins. Co. of Shelby, Ohio v. Pearson, 236 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1970); Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am. v. Culbreath Isles Prop. Owners Ass’n, 103 So. 3d 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012); Wilson v. Ford, 949 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Capital Bank v. Knuck, 537 So. 2d 697 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), the order is vacated and held for naught. The effect of this ruling is to confirm the validity of the final judgment, w…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Reeves v. Fleetwood Homes OF Fla., Inc., 889 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 2004)
- Fieselman v. State, 566 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 1990)
- Scott v. State, 355 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)
- Trucap Grantor Tr. 2010-1 v. Pelt, 84 So. 3d 369 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)
- Liberty Ins. Corp. v. Milne, 98 So. 3d 613 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- City OF ST. Petersburg v. The Cir. Court OF the Sixth Jud. Cir. & the Honorable David Seth Walker, 422 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)
- City OF Sanibel v. Maxwell, 925 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)