ECHCHO MARIA HART
v.
DADE COUNTY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Fla. 3d DCA | 2024-06-19
No. 2023-1423
2024 FL 7236 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2024)

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Holding

An appellant's failure to provide a transcript of trial proceedings results in affirmance of the trial court's judgment because an appellate court cannot properly review factual issues or determine if the judgment is supported by evidence without such a record.


Headnotes

[1] A party seeking appellate review bears the burden of providing the appellate court with an adequate record of the proceedings in the lower tribunal, including a transcrip…

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Key Quotes

“An appellate court cannot reverse a decision in the absence of a sufficient record.”

The court explained the consequence of an inadequate appellate record, citing Kass Shuler.

Facts & Procedural History

Hart appealed a County Court decision against Dade County Federal Credit Union. The record on appeal contained no transcript of the trial proceedings …

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Opinion of the Court

Opinion filed June 19, 2024. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-1423 Lower Tribunal No. 19-32341 SP

________________

Echcho Maria Hart,

Appellant,

vs.

Dade County Federal Credit Union,

Appellee.

An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Miesha S. Darrough, Judge. Shrouder, Karns & Mager, P.A., and Larry A. Karns (Cooper City), for appellant. Dunn Law, P.A., and Jerrod M. Maddox, for appellee. Before FERNANDEZ, LINDSEY, and LOBREE, JJ. PER CURIAM.

Appellant has not met her burden of providing this Court with an

adequate record of the proceedings before the trial court. See Williams v.

Jessica L. Kerr, P.A., 271 So. 3d 82, 83 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (“It is well

established that the party seeking appellate review has the burden of

providing the court with an adequate record of the proceedings in the lower

tribunal.” (quoting Kass Shuler, P.A. v. Barchard, 120 So. 3d 165, 168 (Fla.

2d DCA 2013))). This is abundantly clear as the record on appeal contains

no transcript of the trial proceeding before the lower court. As this Court

recently held in Williams:

“An appellate court cannot reverse a decision in the absence of a sufficient record.” [Kass Shuler, 120 So. 3d at 168] (emphasis omitted). This is because “[w]ithout a record of the trial proceedings, the appellate court can [not] properly resolve the underlying factual issues so as to conclude that the trial court’s judgment is not supported by the evidence or by an alternative theory.” Applegate v. Barnett Bank of Tallahassee, 377 So. 2d 1150, 1152 (Fla. 1979). Thus, “when no transcript is provided, a judgment that is not fundamentally erroneous will be affirmed.” Arnold v. Whitley, Jr., 97 So. 3d 339 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012). 271 So. 3d at 83 (alternations in original) (footnote omitted). “The most salient impediment to meaningful review of the trial court’s

decision is not the absence of findings, but the absence of a transcript.”

Esaw v. Esaw, 965 So. 2d 1261, 1264 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). Indeed, an

appellant’s failure to provide a proper record to the reviewing court “is

‘usually fatal’ to the appellant's claims.” Id. at 1264-65 (quoting Casella v.

Casella, 569 So. 2d 848, 849 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)). “Without such a record,

it will ordinarily be impossible for the appellant to establish that an asserted

error is harmful.” Id. at 1265. Accordingly, we affirm.

Affirmed.


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