DARREN ALLEN DOWDY
v.
THE ESTATE OF JUANITA JOYCE DOWDY

Fla. 6th DCA | 2023-06-09
No. 2023-1289
Florida District Court of Appeal, Sixth District (2023)

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Synopsis

Darren Allen Dowdy appealed the trial court's orders in an estate administration case, challenging his non-appointment as personal representative and various asset distribution matters. The appellate court dismissed the appeal as to the personal representative appointment claim due to untimeliness, and affirmed the remaining orders.


Holding

The court dismissed the appeal regarding the personal representative appointment as untimely because the Notice of Appeal was filed more than five months after the November 3, 2021 order. The court affirmed the trial court's orders regarding the remaining issues (summary administration and homestead status).


Headnotes

[1] A notice of appeal must be filed within the time prescribed by the rules of appellate procedure to confer jurisdiction on the appellate court.

[2] An appellate court lacks jurisdiction to consider an appeal of an order if the notice of appeal is not timely filed.

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Key Quotes

“The time to appeal the appointment ran from rendition of the order appointing the personal representative”

Establishes the applicable deadline for appealing a personal representative appointment decision

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Facts & Procedural History

The trial court entered an Order Appointing an Independent Personal Representative on November 3, 2021. Darren Allen Dowdy, the appellant, did not fil…

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Opinion of the Court

STARGEL, J.

Appellant, Darren Allen Dowdy, appeals the trial court's "Order of Summary Administration," "Order Authorizing Conversion to Summary Administration and an Order of Discharge," and "Order Determining Homestead Status of Real Property."1 Appellant does not raise any claims of error as to the specific orders on appeal, but instead raises seven claims of error regarding the denial of his request to be appointed

as the personal representative as well as various issues concerning the distribution of assets. We write only to address the timeliness of the issues raised pertaining to Appellant not being appointed as the personal representative. The Notice of Appeal did not include the November 3, 2021, "Order Appointing an Independent Personal Representative." Assuming it had, our Court would still be without jurisdiction because the Notice of Appeal was not filed until April 26, 2022. 2 See Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(b); Naftel v. Pappas, 68 So. 3d 368, 368 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) ("[T]he time to appeal the appointment ran from rendition of the order appointing the personal representative . . . ."). Accordingly, this portion of the appeal is dismissed. We affirm the trial court's orders as to the remaining issues without further comment. DISMISSED in part; AFFIRMED in part. NARDELLA and WHITE, JJ., concur. Darren Allen Dowdy, Kissimmee, pro se.

No appearance for Appellee.

Footnotes
1 This case was transferred from the Fifth District Court of Appeal to this Court on January 1, 2023.

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