Plain Language Rule

584 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 392 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Law Offs. of Fred C. Cohen, P.A. v. H.E.C. Cleaning, LLC.
  290 So. 3d 76· Fla. 4th DCA· 2020-02-05 ·cited 3×
  Rule 2.516's email service requirements do not apply to service of a section 57.105 safe harbor notice. The court receded from its prior holdings in Matte v. Caplan and Estimable v. Prophete, which had required strict compliance with rule 2.516 for such notices.
• Knowlton v. Marja-Leena Knowlton
  282 So. 3d 154· Fla. 1st DCA· 2019-10-01 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  A party challenging the burden of proof assigned to modification of support obligations must raise the issue in the trial court; failure to do so and acquiescence to the burden constitutes a waiver of the issue on appeal.
• HSBC Bank USA v. Sabatino J. Leone and Diana Leone
  271 So. 3d 172· Fla. 2d DCA· 2019-05-03 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Contract
  When a foreclosure action is dismissed without prejudice based on the same uncured default, the lender is not required to send a new default notice under paragraph 22 of the mortgage before filing a second foreclosure action. The original default notice remains valid and serves t
• Grant v. State
  266 So. 3d 203· Fla. 4th DCA· 2019-03-06 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  The trial court committed fundamental error by instructing the jury that the forcible-felony exception to the justifiable use of force defense applies based on whether the person defended (the son) was committing a forcible felony, when the statute requires the exception to apply
• Serenity Harper v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co.
  272 So. 3d 448· Fla. 2d DCA· 2019-03-01 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  The sixty-day cure period under section 624.155(3)(d) begins when the insured electronically files the CRN with the Department of Financial Services, not when the insurer actually receives the notice. An insurer must pay the claim or take corrective action within sixty days from
• Eastwood Shores Prop. Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Fla. Dep't of Econ. Opportunity
  264 So. 3d 264· Fla. 2d DCA· 2019-01-25 ·cited 3×
  A condominium association whose members own units that are residential property subject to exclusive ownership qualifies as a "homeowners' association" under MRTA section 712.01(4), even though unit owners also hold undivided interests in common elements, and is therefore entitle
• Morrison v. Morrison
  247 So. 3d 604· Fla. 2d DCA· 2018-05-11 ·cited 3×
  When a marital settlement agreement contains a latent ambiguity regarding the meaning of "inheritance funds received," the court must apply contract interpretation principles and consider parol evidence of the parties' intent, not statutory construction principles used to interpr
• Williams v. State
  246 So. 3d 529· Fla. 2d DCA· 2018-05-11 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  To prove witness tampering under § 914.22(1)(e), the State must prove the accused knowingly took action with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent communication to law enforcement relating to an offense, but is not required to prove the victim was attempting to contact law enforcem
• Leon v. Carollo
  246 So. 3d 490· Fla. 3d DCA· 2018-05-02 ·cited 3×
  The one-year residency requirement in Miami city charter section 4(c) is a qualification requirement to run for office, not a constitutional eligibility requirement to hold office. Courts lack inherent power to determine post-election contests based on a candidate's failure to me
• Custom Marine Sales, Inc v. Boywic Farms, Ltd
  245 So. 3d 791· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-04-25 ·cited 3×
  When a commercial lease unambiguously waives rent until the landlord completes specified improvements and the landlord has not completed those improvements, no rent is due and the trial court errs in ordering the tenant to deposit rent into the court registry.
• Whynes v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
  240 So. 3d 867· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-03-21 ·cited 3×
  Milton N. Whynes appealed the dismissal of his complaint alleging that American Security Insurance Company (ASIC) and Wells Fargo violated Florida Statutes section 626.9551(1)(d) by using his insurance information to solicit force-placed insurance. The court affirmed the dismissa
• 14269 BT, LLC v. Vill. OF Wellington
  240 So. 3d 1· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-01-17 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  Nonresidential farm buildings are exempt from municipal zoning regulations under section 604.50(1), Fla. Stat., including limitations on the number of barns that may be constructed. The exemption applies to all municipal codes following the legislature's 2011 amendment to expand
• State v. Peraza
  226 So. 3d 937· Fla. 4th DCA· 2017-08-30 ·cited 3×
  A Florida appellate court held that law enforcement officers are entitled to seek immunity under Florida's Stand Your Ground law (sections 776.012 and 776.032) when using deadly force, rejecting the argument that officers are limited to a qualified immunity defense under section
• Omega Ins. Co. v. Wallace
  224 So. 3d 864· Fla. 2d DCA· 2017-08-16 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Insurance Policy
  Omega Insurance appeals a directed verdict awarding homeowners over $200,000 for sinkhole remediation. The court reversed, holding that the proper method of subsurface repair is a jury question that cannot be decided on a directed verdict when experts disagree on the appropriate
• Dominique Wright v. State
  199 So. 3d 1019· Fla. 4th DCA· 2016-06-29 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  The court held that the trial court did not err in admitting the victim's suppression hearing testimony, excluding deposition portions, or admitting rap videos, and affirmed the defendant's conviction and concurrent sentences.
• P.R. v. State
  183 So. 3d 1163· Fla. 4th DCA· 2016-01-06 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  The court held that a juvenile who was not adjudicated delinquent, but for whom adjudication was withheld, cannot be compelled to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing under section 960.003(4) of the Florida Statutes.
• City OF Boynton Beach v. Janots
  101 So. 3d 864· Fla. 4th DCA· 2012-10-10 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  The court held that the City did not need to file a separate action to enforce its code enforcement liens and the trial court should have adjudicated the City's lien claims within the condemnation action.
• Nieves v. N. River Ins. Co.
  49 So. 3d 810· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-11-24 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  The court held that an excess insurer satisfies Florida Statutes § 627.727(2)'s requirement to "make available" uninsured motorist (UM) coverage by offering excess UM protection at no additional cost, conditioned on the insured purchasing underlying UM coverage in its primary pol
• O'Brien v. Cynthia T. McMAHON for Madison Anne Todd
  44 So. 3d 1273· Fla. 1st DCA· 2010-10-07 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language Of Contract
  Elizabeth Anne O'Brien appealed a summary judgment ruling that she had no right to proceeds from her uncle's life insurance policy after he validly changed the beneficiary designation from her to his newly-adopted daughter. The Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed, hol
• State v. Cutwright
  41 So. 3d 389· Fla. 1st DCA· 2010-07-30 ·cited 3×
  A career offender under the Florida Career Offender Registration Act must report any change in residence, including abandoning a previous residence, within 2 working days under section 775.261(4)(d), regardless of whether the offender establishes a new permanent or temporary resi
• Burgess v. Prince
  25 So. 3d 705· Fla. 2d DCA· 2010-01-22 ·cited 3×
  Patricia Burgess appeals the trial court's decision removing her as Trustee of the Prince Family Trust and prohibiting compensation for managing a Trust asset (Salt Creek Art Works). The appellate court reversed the compensation prohibition, holding that trust provisions allowing
• Polite v. State
  933 So. 2d 587· Fla. 3d DCA· 2006-06-14 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  The Florida Third District Court of Appeal held that knowledge of a victim's status as a police officer is not an element of the crime of resisting an officer with violence under Fla. Stat. § 843.01. The court reversed its prior conflicting opinions and certified a direct conflic
• Hanna v. WCI Cmtys., Inc.
  348 F. Supp. 2d 1322· S.D. Fla.· 2004-11-18 ·cited 3×
  Robert Hanna, a WCI Communities executive, was terminated after voicing concerns that the company's fiscal year 2003 business plan was unrealistic and could mislead investors. Hanna filed an administrative complaint with the Department of Labor under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's whis
• Chancellor Media Whiteco Outdoor Corp. v. State
  796 So. 2d 547· Fla. 1st DCA· 2001-07-24 ·cited 3×
  Chancellor Media Whiteco Outdoor Corporation appealed a Florida Department of Transportation order requiring removal of six non-conforming outdoor advertising signs that were rebuilt after being destroyed by wildfire in 1998. The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the remova
• State v. Brown
  723 So. 2d 857· Fla. 4th DCA· 1998-11-25 ·cited 3×
  Florida's appellate court affirmed a sentence of community control and probation for cocaine possession, holding that the trial court properly exercised statutory discretion to impose probation in lieu of imprisonment for enumerated drug offenses under section 948.034(2), Florida
• Scott v. State
  718 So. 2d 751· Fla.· 1998-08-20 ·cited 3×
  A defendant convicted of grand theft of a firearm cannot receive an additional eighteen-point firearm enhancement under Florida's sentencing guidelines because the firearm is an essential element of the offense itself, not a separate felony committed while possessing a firearm.
• Park-Ohio Indus., Inc. v. The Home Indem. Co.
  975 F.2d 1215· 6th Cir.· 1992-09-22 ·cited 3×
  The pollution exclusion in an insurance policy is ambiguous when applied to product liability claims involving harm from a product released into the stream of commerce, and ambiguities must be construed against the insurer.
• Boggan v. State
  589 So. 2d 1036· Fla. 1st DCA· 1991-12-09 ·cited 3×·via Plain Language
  Danny Boggan was sentenced as a habitual felony offender based on prior convictions that occurred on the same date. The court reversed the sentence and certified to the Florida Supreme Court whether the habitual felony offender statute requires that predicate felonies be committe
• Ruppert v. In re Est. of Charles Francis Hastings
  311 So. 2d 810· Fla. 1st DCA· 1975-05-07 ·cited 3×
  Florida court affirmed that a will disinheriting a daughter in favor of a charity must be voided under Fla. Stat. § 731.19, despite the testator's clear intent, because the statute mandates such result.
• Jacksonville v. Nat'l Ben Franklin Fire Ins. Co.
  S.D. Fla.· 1924-10-09 ·cited 3×
  An insurance company refused to pay a fire loss claim based on alleged violations of policy conditions, including failure to maintain required books and keeping fireworks on the premises. The court held that the insurer was not estopped from asserting these defenses merely becaus
• People's Tr. Ins. Co. v. Elvin Hernandez and Jeannette Hernandez
  413 So. 3d 127· Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-03-26 ·cited 2×
  Under amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.820(h), effective July 1, 2024, a party must file a notice of rejection of the arbitration decision and request for trial in the same document within 20 days of service of the arbitrator's decision; a request for trial de novo that
• Lawnwood Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Rouse
  394 So. 3d 51· Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-07-03 ·cited 2×
  When a party fails to file a motion for trial de novo within twenty days of service of an arbitration decision, as required by section 44.103(5) and rule 1.820(h), the arbitration decision becomes final and binding, and the trial court must enter judgment in accordance with the a
• Progressive Am. Ins. Co. v. Chiropractic Clinics of S. Fla., PL
  387 So. 3d 1262· Fla. 3d DCA· 2024-05-22 ·cited 2×
  Progressive American Insurance Company appeals a trial court order denying its motion for attorney's fees and costs after obtaining judgment. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of attorney's fees but reversed the denial of costs, holding that section 57.041
• 34th St., LLC v. PRO Karting Experience, Inc.
  385 So. 3d 167· Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-03-22 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  In a landlord-tenant dispute, the court affirmed the trial court's invalidation of a writ of possession, holding that Florida Statute § 83.232(5)'s absolute waiver provision does not apply unless the court order explicitly directs the tenant to pay rent into the court registry. H
• Patios W. One Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Am. Coastal Ins. Co.
  388 So. 3d 893· Fla. 3d DCA· 2024-01-03 ·cited 2×
  Section 627.70132, Florida Statutes (2017), does not require that an insured provide a damage estimate in order to give legally sufficient notice of a supplemental or reopened claim; the statute requires only that notice be given to the insurer in accordance with the terms of the
• Larry and Ellen Vickery v. City of Pensacola
  342 So. 3d 249· Fla. 1st DCA· 2022-02-16 ·cited 2×
  The appellate court reversed a lower court's denial of a motion to dissolve a temporary injunction. The court held that a state statute, which allows homeowners to remove dangerous trees with documentation from a certified arborist, preempts local ordinances requiring permits for
• X.B. v. State
  337 So. 3d 99· Fla. 3d DCA· 2021-11-17 ·cited 2×
  The State presented sufficient evidence of suspension through the dean's testimony that he orally notified the juvenile of suspension, and § 810.097(1) does not require proof of willful entry or remaining on school grounds—only that the person entered or remained while suspended.
• Aiello v. ASI Preferred Corp.
  315 So. 3d 713· Fla. 4th DCA· 2021-03-31 ·cited 2×
  A homeowners' insurance policy's watercraft exclusion precludes coverage for boating accidents involving a boat owned by an insured, and the policy's severability clause does not render the exclusion ambiguous or create separate coverage for non-owner insureds.
• Pezeshkan v. Manhattan Constr. Fla. Inc.
  313 So. 3d 948· Fla. 2d DCA· 2021-03-26 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Contract
  The appellate court reversed a lower court's order compelling arbitration, finding that the appellant had not agreed to arbitrate with the companies seeking arbitration and that the disputes were not arbitrable. The court emphasized that arbitration is a matter of contract and re
• Potter v. Malee Potter
  317 So. 3d 255· Fla. 1st DCA· 2021-03-15 ·cited 2×
  The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decision to consider two separate marriages between the same parties as one continuous marriage for alimony determination. The court held that a 2010 statute did not abrogate prior caselaw allowing this practice and that equitable co
• Castro v. Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.
  305 So. 3d 623· Fla. 3d DCA· 2020-04-29 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Contract
  The appellate court affirmed a lower court's order authorizing the garnishment of a debtor's wages. The court held that the debtor's written consent to garnishment in a guaranty agreement was a valid waiver of his "head of family" statutory exemption.
• La Galere Mkts., Inc. v. State of Fla. Dep't of Bus. & Prof'l Reg. Div. of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco
  289 So. 3d 553· Fla. 1st DCA· 2020-01-31 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language
  The appellate court reversed a lower agency's decision that prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages through automated dispensing machines (ADMs). The court found that the plain language of the cited statutes did not prohibit such sales, despite the agency's interpretation that
• Hillcrest Country Club Ltd. P'ship v. Zyscovich, Inc.
  288 So. 3d 1265· Fla. 4th DCA· 2020-01-22 ·cited 2×
  A golf course owner appeals a summary judgment awarding an architect a $2.5 million bonus fee for services rendered in converting a golf course into residences. The parties dispute whether the bonus fee provision required only governmental and covenant-removal approvals or also r
• State v. Jamaal Pickersgill
  284 So. 3d 542· Fla. 4th DCA· 2019-10-30 ·cited 2×
  The State appeals a post-verdict judgment of acquittal in a drug and resisting arrest case. The appellate court reversed, holding that the State presented competent substantial evidence of possession of THC, possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, and resisting an officer,
• McKenzie v. State
  272 So. 3d 808· Fla. 5th DCA· 2019-05-10 ·cited 2×
  A trial court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to designate a defendant as a sexual predator after the defendant has completed his sentence when the designation was not made at sentencing and the applicable statute does not provide authority for such belated designation.
• Gonzalez-Barrera v. Majorca Towers Condo
  272 So. 3d 424· Fla. 3d DCA· 2019-02-06 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language
  Gonzalez-Barrera and Garcia appeal a permanent injunction issued against Garcia by Majorca Towers Condominium Association. The court affirmed the injunction prohibiting Garcia from residing in a separate unit from Gonzalez-Barrera without Association approval, but reversed the in
• Hawks v. Libit
  251 So. 3d 321· Fla. 2d DCA· 2018-07-25 ·cited 2×
  Under Florida Statute § 57.041(1), costs must be awarded to the party recovering judgment, not to the prevailing party, and the plain language of the statute is mandatory and not subject to trial court discretion. Hawks, as the party in whose favor judgment was entered on his fee
• Diaz v. Kosch
  250 So. 3d 156· Fla. 3d DCA· 2018-06-13 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Contract
  Buyers appealed summary judgments in a failed residential real estate transaction, challenging the trial court's determination that they forfeited their right to cancel the contract and their earnest money deposit. The Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District affirmed, ho
• Ring Power Corp. & United Self v. Murphy
  238 So. 3d 906· Fla. 1st DCA· 2018-02-23 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  Andrew Murphy sought workers' compensation benefits in 2016, more than two years after his employer last provided benefits in 2013. The central dispute was whether Murphy's petition was timely under Florida's statute of limitations, turning on whether the presence of permanently
• City OF Homestead v. McDonough
  232 So. 3d 1069· Fla. 3d DCA· 2017-11-01 ·cited 2×·via Plain Language Of Statute
  The City of Homestead appealed a trial court order requiring disclosure of certain documents (Records 3 and 4) in response to a public records request by Dr. McDonough, who had filed a Notice of Intent to claim against the City. The court held that all documents in a risk managem