CONSTANCE BUCHANAN, AS LEGAL GUARDIAN OF JOHN DOE 2, A FICTITIOUS NAME FOR A MINOR
v.
CROSSROADS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, INC., A FLORIDA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION, CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST, INC., AND CHRISTOPHER ROBERT BACCA

Fla. 1st DCA | 2018-06-20
No. 18-1820
244 So. 3d 1210 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2018)

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Holding

An order dismissing a count of a complaint is not appealable as a partial final judgment when pending counts against the same defendant arise from the same conduct.


Headnotes

[1] An order dismissing a count of a complaint where other counts against the same parties remain is not independently appealable as a partial final judgment unless the dismi…

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Key Quotes

“An appeal from an order dismissing a count of a complaint, where other counts against the same parties remain, is authorized only when the dismissed count arises from a separate and distinct transaction independent of the other pending, pleaded claims.”

Court established the controlling legal standard for appealability of partial final judgments.

Facts & Procedural History

Appellant Constance Buchanan, as legal guardian of a minor, filed a complaint against Crossroads United Methodist Church, Campus Crusade for Christ, a…

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Opinion of the Court

(“An order is not an appealable partial final order where there is a factual overlap between the pending claims and the claims resolved by the order.”) Cf. Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(k). “An appeal from an order dismissing a count of a complaint, where other counts against the same parties remain, is authorized only when the dismissed count arises from a separate and distinct transaction independent of the other pending, pleaded claims.” Biasetti v. Palm Beach Blood Bank, Inc., 654 So. 2d 237, 238 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); see also Harrison v. J.P.A. Enters., LLC, 51 So. 3d 1217, 1219 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011). Appellant’s complaint includes two pending counts alleging claims against the same defendant for damages stemming from the same conduct as Count VIII. Therefore, the claims are interrelated and the order on Count VIII is not independently appealable as a partial final judgment pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.110(k).

The appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

ROWE, KELSEY, and WINOKUR, JJ., concur. _____________________________ Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.

_____________________________ Gerald B. Stewart, Jacksonville; Willie J. Walker of The Walker Law Offices, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellant. Michael R. D'Lugo of Wicker Smith O’Hara McCoy & Ford, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee Campus Crusade for Christ. No appearance for Appellees Crossroads United Methodist Church or Christopher Robert Bacca.


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