CARTER
v.
MEADOWS
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.
A certiorari petition challenging a discovery order in a child custody dispute is dismissed as moot when the parties settle the underlying case before the court decides the petition on the merits.
[1] Counsel have a continuing duty under the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar to notify the appellate court immediately of any se…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“An issue is moot when the controversy has been so fully resolved that a judicial determination can have no actual effect.”
Court's statement of the mootness standard applied to dismiss the petition
Carter petitioned for certiorari to quash a trial court order permitting discovery of his psychotherapist-patient records in a child custody dispute. …
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Duty Of Candor To The Court cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Daniel K. Carter petitioned for a writ certiorari in this Court to quash the trial court’s order permitting the discovery of his psychotherapist-patient records in a child custody dispute. On January 25, 2023, after Carter sought certiorari relief in this Court, the parties entered into a settlement agreement “resolving all outstanding issues between.” Two days later, the trial court entered a supplemental final judgment based on the parties’ agreement.
This Court issued an order directing Carter to show cause why the petition should not be dismissed as moot and why sanctions should not be imposed for the failure to notify this Court promptly that the underlying matter had been concluded. See Fusari v. Steinberg, 419 U.S. 379, 390–91 (1975) (Burger, C.J., concurring) (noting that “all parties failed to inform us that after the District Court entered judgment the Connecticut Legislature significantly changed its unemployment compensation system,” agreeing “that this failure is ‘difficult to understand,” remarking that it “is disconcerting to this Court to learn of relevant and important developments in a case after the entire Court has come to the Bench to hear arguments,” and observing that the “Court must rely on counsel to present issues fully and fairly, and counsel have a continuing duty to inform the Court of any development which may conceivably affect an outcome”); Bd. of License Comm’rs of Town of Tiverton v. Pastore, 469 U.S. 238, 240 (1985) (reminding counsel of their continuing duty to keep the court informed “without delay” of any developments that could affect the Court’s jurisdiction or render a case moot); Merkle v. Guardianship of Jacoby, 912 So. 2d 595, 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (citing counsel’s duty of candor to the court under R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4–3.3, noting that “[d]uring the pendency of an appeal, the duty of candor imposes an obligation on counsel to notify the court of any development that may conceivably affect the outcome of the litigation, including facts that may raise a question of mootness,” and imposing sanctions for “failure to notify us immediately of the settlement he reached with the Department as required by rule 9.350(a)”); see also Fla. R. App. P. 9.350 (“When any cause pending in the court is settled before a decision on the merits, the parties shall immediately notify the court by filing a signed stipulation for dismissal.”).
Considering the response, we dismiss the petition as moot. See Godwin v. State, 593 So. 2d 211, 212 (Fla. 1992) (“An issue is moot when the controversy has been so fully resolved that a judicial determination can have no actual effect.”). And we discharge the order to show cause as to sanctions.
DISMISSED. ROWE, KELSEY and TANENBAUM, JJ., concur. _____________________________
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Fusari v. Steinberg, 419 U.S. 379 (U.S. 1975)
- Sallas v. State, 593 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 1992)
- Merkle v. Guardianship OF Robert J. Jacoby, 912 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
- Bd. of License Comm'rs of the Town of Tiverton v. Pastore, 469 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1985)