ALVAREZ, FELTMAN & DA SILVA, P.L., ETC.
v.
CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, ET AL.
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AFDC, a law firm, appealed omnibus orders awarding prevailing party costs to Shell of Summerland and Ramrod after the trial court found AFDC's notices of withdrawal of charging lien were untimely notices of voluntary dismissal or operated as an adjudication on the merits under the two-dismissal rule. The court affirmed, holding the notices were untimely filed after summary judgment proceedings had commenced.
The court affirmed the trial court's determination that the notices were untimely filed after summary judgment proceedings had commenced, or alternatively, that the two-dismissal rule applied. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1), a notice of voluntary dismissal must be filed before a hearing on a motion for summary judgment, and if filed thereafter, it operates as an adjudication on the merits when a plaintiff has previously dismissed the same claim.
[1] A notice of withdrawal of a charging lien filed after a hearing on a motion for summary judgment is untimely and cannot operate as a voluntary dismissal.
[2] A notice of voluntary dismissal operates as an adjudication on the merits when filed by a plaintiff who has previously dismissed an action based on or including the same…
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Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1) permits voluntary dismissal only before a summary judgment hearing
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAFDC filed notices of withdrawal of charging lien on October 24, 2022. The trial court found these notices were tantamount to untimely notices of volu…
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GORDO, J.
In these appeals, Alvarez, Feltman & Da Silva, P.L. n/k/a Alvarez, Feltman, Da Silva & Costa P.L. (“AFDC”) appeals the omnibus orders entering final judgments and awarding prevailing party costs pursuant to section 57.041, Florida Statutes, and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(d) in favor of Shell of Summerland, Inc. (“Summerland”) and Ramrod Property Investments, LLC and Shell of Ramrod, Inc. (collectively, “Ramrod”). We have jurisdiction. Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(1)(A). For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
In the omnibus orders under review, the trial court found AFDC’s notices of withdrawal of charging lien, filed on October 24, 2022, were tantamount to untimely notices of voluntary dismissal of AFDC’s claim for fees. Alternatively, the trial court found that even if the notices were not untimely, they operated as an “adjudication on the merits” under the two-dismissal rule.
On appeal, AFDC challenges both rulings. Because we find no error in the trial court’s determination that the notices were untimely or, in the alternative, that Summerland and Ramrod would be entitled to the entry of final judgment pursuant to the two-dismissal rule, we affirm. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(a)(1) (permitting a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss an action by filing a notice of voluntary dismissal “at any time before a hearing on motion for summary judgment”); Stonely v. Moore, 851 So. 2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d
DCA 2003) (“In the present case, the notice [of voluntary dismissal] was not filed until after the hearing on the motion for summary judgment. At that point, the plaintiffs could not dismiss the action by filing a notice . . . .”); Britt v. Knowles, 792 So. 2d 635, 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (“Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(1) [also] provides that a notice of voluntary dismissal ‘operates as an adjudication on the merits when served by a plaintiff who has once dismissed in any court an action based on or including the same claim.’” (quoting Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(a)(1))); Variety Children’s Hosp. v. Mt. Sinai Hosp. of Greater Mia., Inc., 448 So. 2d 546, 548 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (finding the two-dismissal rule of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420 applied where the “underlying transaction” was the same).
Affirmed.
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- Variety Child's. Hosp. v. MT. Sinai Hosp. OF Greater Miami, Inc., 448 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Stonely v. Moore, 851 So. 2d 905 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)
- Britt v. Knowles, 792 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)