R.F., THE FATHER
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, AND STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE
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A trial court reversibly errs by imposing, without adequate prior notice, a requirement that all future filings be reviewed and signed by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing.
[1] A trial court reversibly errs by imposing, without adequate prior notice, a requirement that all future filings in a case be reviewed and signed by a member of the Florid…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceR.F., the father, appealed from a trial court order denying his motion to vacate a final judgment terminating his parental rights. The trial court den…
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DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
R.F., the father, Appellant,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, and STATEWIDE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OFFICE, Appellees.
No. 4D2026-0069
[September 30, 2026]
Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; Kathleen Kroll, Judge; L.T. Case No. 502019DP000789XXXXMB.
David J. Joffe of Joffe Law, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellant.
Andrew Feigenbaum of Children's Legal Service, West Palm Beach, for appellee Department of Children and Families.
Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Sarah Todd Weitz, Senior Attorney, Appellate Division of the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Tallahassee, for appellee Guardian ad Litem Office.
ON CONFESSION OF ERROR
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, R.F., the father, appeals from the trial court's order denying his motion to vacate the final judgment terminating his parental rights. The trial court denied Appellant's motion on the basis that the motion was not signed by a member in good standing of the Florida Bar.
The Department and Guardian ad Litem concede that the trial court reversibly erred by imposing, without adequate prior notice, the requirement that all future filings be reviewed and signed by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing. See State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999); Day v. State, 903 So. 2d 886, 887 (Fla. 2005); Johnson v. Sobota, 432 So. 3d 54, 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026). We have reviewed, and we
accept, the Department's and the Guardian ad Litem Office's commendable confession of error.
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order denying Appellant's motion to vacate the final judgment terminating his parental rights, and remand for the trial court to issue the requisite order to show cause.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
GERBER, C.J., CONNER and LOTT, JJ., concur.
* * *
No motion for rehearing will be accepted. The mandate shall issue immediately.
2
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- DAY v. State, 903 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 2005)