SERGIO PANTOJA, APPELLANT,
v.
RELIABLE TRUCKING, INC., AND SANWAY DEVELOPMENT CORP., APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1991-07-17
No. 90-2732
ANSTEAD, WARNER, JJ., and STEVENSON, W. MATTHEW, Associate Judge, concur.
585 So. 2d 955 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Synopsis

Sergio Pantoja appeals a default final judgment and the trial court's denial of his motion to vacate the default. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirms the judgment, rejecting Pantoja's challenge to the jurisdiction of judges who were not formally assigned to the case.


Holding

Judges to whom a case was not administratively assigned nonetheless have jurisdiction to enter orders in the case because all judges of the circuit court are authorized to exercise the court's jurisdiction. The intra-circuit transfer of cases between judges is a matter of internal court administration that does not affect the validity of orders or judgments entered. The trial court did not commit reversible error in denying the motion to vacate the default.


Headnotes

[1] Judges of a circuit court are authorized to exercise the court's jurisdiction, and the intra-circuit transfer of cases between judges or divisions is a matter of internal…

[2] A default final judgment may be vacated if the judgment amount was paid prior to the submission of the affidavit of indebtedness and entry of the judgment, provided a pro…

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Key Quotes

“the identity of the Court is not disturbed by a succession in the identity of the person of the Chancellor exercising its authority and functions”

Establishes that changes in the judge handling a case do not affect the court's jurisdiction or the validity of orders

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Facts & Procedural History

The case was originally assigned to Judge Stephen Booher of the 19th division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County. During Judge Booh…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from a default final judgment and the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to vacate the underlying default. We affirm.

Appellant initially complains because a number of different judges entered orders in the cause without the circuit’s chief judge having assigned them to the case or the case to their division. This case originally was assigned to the late Judge Stephen Booher of the 19th division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Broward County. During Judge Booher’s illness and after his unfortunate passing, several different judges, apparently covering for Judge Booher and for each other, signed various orders in the cause. We disagree with appellant’s notion that judges to whom the case was not administratively assigned lack jurisdiction to enter orders thereon. The Supreme Court of Florida has stated that the “identity of the Court is not disturbed by a succession in the identity of the person of the Chancellor exercising its authority and functions.” Groover v. Walker, 88 So. 2d 312, 314 (Fla.1956). As this court remarked in In re Guardianship of Bentley, 342 So. 2d 1045, 1046-47 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977),

The Circuit Court has jurisdiction as prescribed by the Constitution and general law. See Article V, Section 5, Florida Constitution, and Section 26.012, Florida Statutes (1975). All of the judges of the Circuit Court are authorized to exercise that Court’s jurisdiction. However, for efficiency in administration, the Circuit Court is frequently divided into divisions, with each division handling certain types of cases. Judges and cases can both be transferred from one division to another....

The intra-circuit transferring of cases from one judge to another, whether within a designated division or between different divisions, is a matter of internal administration of the court and does not affect the validity of orders or judgments entered. Even where as here, the transfer is done somewhat informally and not in strict compliance with the established administrative rules of the circuit, the question is not one of jurisdiction.

The remaining points raised by appellant are without merit and do not show reversible error. But, appellant raises the contention that the amount sworn to in the affidavit of indebtedness and awarded to appellee in the judgment was actually paid prior to the submission of the affidavit to the court and entry of the default judgment. If the appellant can prove such a charge, he may be able to file a proper rule 1.540 motion to set aside the judgment. The court makes this observation simply to indicate that the opinion in this case is entered without prejudice to file such a motion.

AFFIRMED.

ANSTEAD, WARNER, JJ., and STEVENSON, W. MATTHEW, Associate Judge, concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Riley, 684 So. 2d 905 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
    …f cases from one judge to another, whether within a designated division or different divisions, is a matter of internal administration of the court and does not affect the validity of orders or judgments entered.” Pantoja v. Reliable Trucking, Inc., 585 So. 2d 955, 956 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Additionally, “a successor judge may not cor [*906] rect errors of law committed by his predecessor and hence he cannot review and reverse on the merits and on the same facts the final orders and decrees of his predecessor.…
  • Berger v. Penia, 596 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)
    …e of the pleadings and referenced both case numbers. Although the two cases were assigned to different circuit judges, the judge that entered the order consolidating the cases had jurisdiction to enter the order. Pantoja v. Reliable Trucking, Inc., 585 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Furthermore, the fact that case number 88-16355 did not show record activity for more than a year was not the fault of the appellant. A copy of the order granting the appellee’s motion [*1128] to consolidate the cases, as well a…

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