Believe it or not the answer is “yes.” A recent South Florida case addressed two procedural issues in post dissolution of marriage cases.   The first issue dealt with a referral to the general magistrate for Florida Statute Section 57.105 sanctions.  The court found it did not have the jurisdiction to hear this issue.  Stating in relevant part: “Neither the possibility (or even likelihood) that a party will incur additional attorney fees and costs as a consequence of an erroneous non-final order, nor that the court will waste limited resources by proceeding, is a sufficient ground to confer jurisdiction on an appellate court to review an otherwise non-appealable, non-final order.”

The second issue dealt with reimbursement for federal income taxes paid by the wife on her post-divorce alimony.  On this issue the matter was initially heard by a magistrate. The magistrate denied the Wife’s claim, which she appealed to the Circuit court.  However, she did not do this within the 10 days required by law.  As such, the Appeals Court found that the trial court erred when it failed to adopt the magistrate’s report.  

Dustin Michael Butler is an Attorney with Martin Law Firm, P.L., whose practice focuses in Family Law, and Civil Litigation.  He primarily practices in Lee County Florida in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Florida.

See Edge v. Edge, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D1977 (Fla 3d DCA 2011).