KAREN SHIELDS, APPELLANT,
v.
GENE FLINN, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1988-07-19
No. 86-1733
Before HUBBART, NESBITT and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.
528 So. 2d 967 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1988) Negative Treatment
Cited by 100 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.


Holding

A judgment entered without notice to a party is void and can be vacated at any time under Rule 1.540(b)(4), regardless of timeliness.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's review of a motion for post-judgment relief under Rule 1.540(b) is limited to the grant or denial of the motion itself, not the merits of the underlying j…

[2] A judgment entered against a party who did not receive notice of the proceedings is void.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Shields was sued for defamation and a default judgment was entered against her after she failed to appear for trial. She later sought relief from the …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from an order denying a motion for post-judgment relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b). In motions before the trial court, the defendant, Karen Shields, had requested relief from the final judgment awarding damages as well as from an interlocutory order finding her liable to plaintiff Gene Flinn. In our original opinion, we addressed the denial of both motions. We have entertained rehearing in this matter to determine the proper scope of review in such a proceeding. Nevertheless, we deny the motion having determined that our scope of review must be addressed solely to the grant or denial of the motion per se rather than the merits of the underlying final judgment or any antecedent order. However, in light of the motion for rehearing, we vacate our opinion filed October 27, 1987 and replace it with the following: Karen Shields appeals from an order denying her motion for relief from judgment. We reverse.

Gene Flinn sued Shields for slander, libel per se and defamation of character in connection with a complaint which Shields filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charging Flinn with sexual harassment during the time Shields was in his employ. A partial summary judgment on the issue of liability was entered against Shields on October 16, 1981. The trial on the issue of damages was originally set for November 1981, but was rescheduled and held on December 18,1981. Shields did not appear for the trial either personally or through counsel. The record does not indicate whether notice of the trial date was ever given as required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440(c). The trial proceeded and the trial court entered judgment against Shields in the amount of $50,000.

Approximately two years after the entry of the final judgment, Shields filed a motion for relief from the partial summary judgment and the final judgment pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(4) claiming that the judgments were void. The trial court denied the motion at an unreported hearing. In a subsequent order, the trial court reconstructed the proceeding and stated that Shields “did not receive notice of the trial of this case, and was not at the trial in person or by counsel.” The order also stated that the Shields motion had been denied because it had not been “filed within a reasonable time, within the meaning of rule 1.540.” Shields seeks relief from the order denying relief from judgment.

Although the motion requested relief from both the partial summary judgment adjudicating liability and the final judgment awarding damages, rule 1.540 provides for the review of final judgments, orders, and decrees only. Consequently, the only judgment from which the trial court could have granted relief was the final judgment. The order denying relief is a post-judgment, interlocutory order. The review of such an order does not include the merits of the final decree sought to be vacated or any other order or judgment. Bland v. Mitchell, 245 So. 2d 47 (Fla.1970); Rushing v. Chappell, 247 So. 2d 749 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971); Odum v. Morningstar, 158 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963). Thus, our only concern is whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying relief from the final judgment.

A judgment entered without notice to a party is void. Falkner v. Amerifirst Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 489 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); cf. Grahn v. Dade Home Servs., Inc., 277 So. 2d 544 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973) (where plaintiffs’ failure to timely comply with trial court’s order resulted in the dismissal of the complaint and entry of judgment against plaintiffs, the dismissal was reversed because the record failed to show that plaintiffs received notice of order); McAlice v. Kirsch, 368 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979) (default judgment was void for failure to give notice to defendant even though defendant received original complaint which did not name him and summons which was not addressed to him). See generally DeClaire v. Yohanan, 453 So. 2d 375 (Fla.1984) (general discussion of the origin, purpose and application of Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.540(b)). Since the trial court specifically found that Shields had not received notice of the trial, the judgment was void. Because relief from a void judgment may be granted at any time, Falkner, 489 So. 2d at 759, the trial court erred in denying Shields’s motion as untimely. Consequently, the void judgment should be vacated. Where a judgment is vacated or set aside, it is as though no judgment had ever been entered. 49 C.J.S. Judgments § 306 (1977).

Accordingly, we reverse the order under review and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (51 total)

  • Terrie G. Viets v. Am. Recruiters Enters., Inc., 922 So. 2d 1090 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
    …d for a gross abuse of discretion. See Finkel Outdoor Prods., Inc. v. Lasky, 529 So. 2d 317, 318 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). Rule 1.540(b)(4) provides relief from void judgments. Relief from a void judgment may be granted at any time. See Shields v. Flinn, 528 So. 2d 967, 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Kennedy v. Richmond, 512 So. 2d 1129, 1130 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); Falkner v. Amerifirst Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 489 So. 2d 758, 759 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). A violation of the due process guarantee of notice and an opportunity to…
  • Cellular Warehouse, Inc. v. GH Cellular, LLC, 957 So. 2d 662 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
    …denied due process); Hutchison v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 922 So. 2d 311, 315 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)(where appellant did not receive notice before entry of orders, the appropriate procedure for attacking void judgment was Rule 1.540(b)); Shields v. Flinn, 528 So. 2d 967, 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)(relief from void judgment may be granted at any time). An error in notice, however, does not void the entire judgment, only that portion awarding unliquidated damages. Bowman, 432 So. 2d at 663. As the appropriate vehicle for…
  • Sec. Bank, N.A. v. Bellsouth Advertising & Publ'g Corp., 679 So. 2d 795 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
    …n appeal from a 1.540 order.10 This court has granted Rule 1.540 relief where, after entry of partial summary judgment on liability, defendant was not given notice of trial on damages under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440(e). Shields v. Flinn, 528 So. 2d 967, 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). Accord Williams v. Direct Dispensing, Inc., 630 So. 2d 1195, 1196-97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (granting 1.540 relief); Tand v. C.F.S. Bakeries, Inc., 559 So. 2d 670, 671 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (granting 1.540 relief); Gulf Maintenance…

Previewing 3 of 51 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw