FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT, APPELLANT,
v.
REINHOLD FLICHTBEIL, ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 5th DCA | 1987-08-27
No. 86-1369
COBB and SHARP, JJ., concur.
513 So. 2d 1078 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1987) Caution
Cited by 16 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Florida Power and Light appeals an order awarding appraiser's fees to the Millers in a condemnation action. The court holds that the trial court lacked authority to reconsider and re-award appraiser's fees after the appellate court had reversed that portion of the judgment without remanding for a new hearing, and accordingly quashes the order.


Holding

No. The trial court lacked authority to reconsider the question of appraiser's fees because the appellate court's reversal was not accompanied by a remand for a second evidentiary hearing, and the appellate court denied the Millers' motion for rehearing requesting such clarification.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court lacks authority to reconsider an issue that an appellate court has reversed and has not remanded for further proceedings.

[2] An appellate court's mandate is binding on the trial court, and compliance is a ministerial act.

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Key Quotes

“When a case is appealed and the appellate court acts by issuing its mandate, the trial court must follow the dictate of the mandate and should not stray from it.”

Establishes the binding effect of appellate court mandates on trial courts.

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1983, Florida Power and Light sought to condemn an easement across land owned by the Millers for a transmission line. Joe Miller, an attorney and p…

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Opinion of the Court
UPCHURCH, Chief Judge.

UPCHURCH, Chief Judge.

Florida Power and Light Company appeals an order awarding appraiser’s fees to appellee Joe Miller in a condemnation action. The court below had no authority to award appraiser’s fees and accordingly we quash the order. In 1983, Florida Power and Light sought to condemn an easement across land in Putnam County for the construction of a transmission line. The respondents included the Millers, who own several parcels sought to be condemned. Joe Miller, an attorney and part owner of several parcels, appeared on behalf of the Millers. Miller retained a real estate broker to perform appraisal services. A settlement was eventually reached between Florida Power and Light and the Millers. The trial court awarded the Millers $40,250 for attorney’s fees and $25,740 for appraiser’s fees.

Florida Power and Light appealed the awards of attorney’s fees and appraisal costs. Florida Power and Light Company v. Flichtbeil, 475 So. 2d 1250 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). On appeal, this court held that the award of attorney’s fees approached the bounds of judicial propriety, but did not exceed them and therefore reluctantly affirmed the award. As to appraiser’s fees, however, this court held that the record did not support the award and reversed that portion of the judgment awarding appraisal costs.

The Millers filed a motion for rehearing and reconsideration of this opinion, arguing in part that the evidence supported the award of appraiser’s fees. The Millers later moved this court to allow an amendment to the motion for rehearing. The Millers pointed out that this court did not expressly state that the issue of appraiser’s costs could be reconsidered by the trial court and requested this court to clarify its opinion to provide that the portion of the order pertaining to appraisal fees was reversed and remanded to the trial court for another hearing on the issue. The motion for rehearing and the motion to allow an amendment to the motion for rehearing were both denied.

After being denied relief at the appellate level, the Millers moved the trial court to assess attorney’s fees and costs. After a hearing was held, the trial court declined to award the Millers attorney’s fees. As to appraiser’s fees, the trial court took additional testimony and then awarded the Millers the same amount previously awarded, $25,740, plus interest from the date of its original order. When a case is appealed and the appellate court acts by issuing its mandate, the trial court must follow the dictate of the mandate and should not stray from it. Marine Midland Bank Central v. Cote, 384 So. 2d 658 (Pla. 5th DCA 1980). Compliance by the trial court with the appellate mandate is a purely ministerial act. Robbins v. Pfeiffer, 407 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).

In the previous appeal, this court reversed the award of appraiser’s fees and did not remand the cause for a second hearing on the issue of fees. The matter of a remand for a second evidentiary hearing for appraiser’s fees was brought up on the motion for rehearing filed by the Millers. This court denied the motion for rehearing and declined to modify its decision. Thus the trial court did not have the authority to reconsider the question of appraiser’s fees. This court clearly was of the opinion that the Millers had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to support their claim for appraiser’s fees and hence they were not entitled to a second “bite at the apple.” See Wiley v. Wiley, 485 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986).

ORDER QUASHED.

COBB and SHARP, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Warner v. Warner, 692 So. 2d 266 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)
    …sts motion by substantial, competent evidence of the services performed and the reasonable value of those services, award of costs must be reversed without opportunity for a second bite at the evidentiary apple); Florida Power & Light v. Flichtbeil, 513 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987) (where plaintiffs failed to adduce sufficient evidence to support their claim for appraiser’s fees, they were not entitled to a second chance), review denied sub nom. Miller v. Florida Power & Light Co., 520 So. 2d 585 (Fla.1988)…
  • Complete Interiors, Inc. v. Behan, 558 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)
    …in the Behans' agreement. . Since the appellees failed to introduce evidence in regard to this issue, they are not entitled to a "second bite at the apple" in the form of an evidentiary hearing on remand. See Florida Power and Light v. Flichtbeil, 513 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987). . Chapter 88-160, Laws of Florida.…
  • Powell v. Barnes, 629 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
    …ida Statutes (1991). Having been afforded one evidentiary hearing on costs, the plaintiffs are not entitled to a second bite at the apple. Florida Ventilated Aiming Company v. Dickson, 67 So. 2d 215 (Fla.1953); Florida Power and Light v. Flichtbeil, 513 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); Wiley v. Wiley, 485 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Van Der Noord v. Katz, 481 So. 2d 1228 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR ENTRY OF AN APPROPRIATE COST JUDGMENT. DAUKSCH, J., concurs. GRIFFIN, J., concurs in part…

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