Sometimes in Florida a case will be referred to a general magistrate for a hearing or trial.  Often the rationale for this is to alleviate crowded Circuit Court dockets and for the parties to get a hearing sooner than they would in Circuit Court.  However, as is often the case in any court, one party may not like the outcome.  Rules of Procedure provide that an “exception” to the magistrates report must be filed within a specified time period.  If an exception is not timely filed, the Circuit Judge will sign an order adopting the magistrate’s findings and opinion.  Once this order is adopted by the Circuit Judge the only available appeal is to the district court of appeal.  Another Circuit Judge or Magistrate cannot change the order of the previous Judge or magistrate. Additionally, the opinion will only be overturned for errors of law; not simply because another Judge views the facts differently.

It is important to have an attorney represent you at all stages of a case.  Often times, there is nothing an attorney can do after the trial because the record of the court case will not support an appeal.  However, the attorney may have been able to achieve a different outcome if they had been hired at the beginning of the case. 

See, Drdek v. Drdek, 37 Fla. L. Weekly D420 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012).

Dustin Michael Butler is an Attorney with Martin Law Firm, P.L., whose practice focuses in Family Law and Civil Litigation.  He is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida. He primarily practices in Lee County Florida in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Florida.

In Divorce actions, the Final Judgment is the document identifying the final order of the court in your case. Until the final judgment is entered, the court may may temporary decisions regarding issues that need to be determined during the pendency of your divorce, but the final judgment will address all issues in your case.

If the final judgment does not dispose of all integrally related matters at issue in the case, the final judgment is not necessarily the final order in the case. If the court reserves on any issues, the judgment may not be final. Once there is a final order in the case, either party may still have cause appeal the court’s decision, but the appeals court will not have jurisdiction to appeal a final judgment unless it is in fact the final order in the case, and it addresses all integrally related issues in the case.

See El Gohary v. El Gohary, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D2754.

Patricia Dills is an Attorney with Martin Law Firm, P.L., whose practice
focuses in Divorce, Child Support, Family Law, and Civil Litigation. She
primarily practices in Naples, Collier County, and Fort Myers, Lee County Florida.

Yes, but there has to be a legal reason to appeal the order. You cannot appeal an order just because you don’t like the Judge’s decision.  There are several types of appeals depending on the type of order to be appealed.  For example, you could appeal an order of temporary spousal support or alimony, which by its very nature is a nonfinal order.  This type of appeal addresses only the decision being appealed, and the trial court may progress the case while the appeal is pending. Further, when considering a temporary order the trial judge is given great discretion in the decision reached.

Once your case is over you can appeal the entire final judgment, or parts within the judgment.  However, it must truly be a final judgment.  For example, if the case is resolved except that the court is reserving jurisdiction to determine equitable distribution, the judgment is not actually final.  In a recent case the appeals court declined jurisdiction because the case was not final.  This case is another example of the importance of following proper procedure.

When dealing with appeals there are strict deadlines for when an appeal must be filed.  Thus if you feel an appeal is necessary in your case you should discuss this immediately with an attorney as you may lose the opportunity to appeal if the appeal is not timely filed, even if the trial court did make an appealable mistake.

See, Wright v. Wright, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D2423(Fla. 1st DCA 2011).

Dustin Michael Butler is an Attorney with Martin Law Firm, P.L., whose practice focuses in Family Law and Civil Litigation.  He is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida. He primarily practices in Lee County Florida in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Florida.

Yes. In a recent appeal from the Circuit Court for Hamilton County, the Florida Department of Revenue challenged the Circuit Court’s order which adopted a Child Support Hearing Officer’s Report and Recommendation as the Order of the Court. The Order included a provision reducing the Appellee’s future child support payments, from $433.63 per month (as calculated by the Department of Revenue in accordance with section 409.2563, Florida Statutes) to $237.00 per month (as agreed by each parent), with the reduction to begin two years from the date of the Order.

Contrary to the Department of Revenue’s argument, the Appeals court found that section 409.2563 actually provides for the Circuit Court to have jurisdiction over a prospective modification of child support payments originally established by administrative support order.

As the Court advised, “The introductory language in section 409.2563, Florida Statutes specifically describes the legislative intent of the statute:

It is not the Legislature’s intent to limit the jurisdiction of the circuit courts to hear and determine issues regarding child support. This section is intended to provide the department with an alternative procedure for establishing child support obligations in Title IV-D cases in a fair and expeditious manner when there is no court order of support. In addition, section 409.2563(10)(c), Florida Statutes clearly recognizes the circuit court’s authority to issue an order prospectively changing the support obligation thusly: (c) A circuit court of this state, where venue is proper and the court has jurisdiction of the parties, may enter an order prospectively changing the support obligations established in an administrative support order, in which case the administrative support order is superseded and the court’s order shall govern future proceedings in the case….

See Florida Department of Revenue OBO Proveaue v. Williams, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D1955 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011).

Patricia Dills is an Attorney with Martin Law Firm, P.L., whose practice focuses in Divorce, Child Support, Family Law, and Civil Litigation. She primarily practices in Naples, Collier County, and Lee County Florida.