IRENE OLSZEWSKA, PETITIONER/APPELLANT,
v.
HONORABLE HENRY G. FERRO, ET AL., RESPONDENTS/APPELLEES
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 tenant appealed a judgment for removal and sought a writ of prohibition to disqualify the trial judge. The appellate court granted the writ of prohibition based on the judge's uncivil conduct toward the tenant's attorney and reversed the default order because the trial court failed to comply with statutory requirements regarding rent deposits and proper notice.
The court granted the writ of prohibition, disqualifying the judge due to his departure from civility and use of base vernacular toward the attorney. The court reversed the order of default because the trial court failed to comply with Florida Statutes section 83.60(2), which requires proper notice and a hearing to determine the appropriate rental amount before a default can be entered.
[1] A judge's use of "base vernacular" towards an attorney or litigant in open court is sufficient grounds for disqualification.
[2] A writ of prohibition is appropriate and necessary when a basis for disqualification of a judge has been established.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“A judge should be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, ... lawyers, and others with whom he deals in his official capacity.”
Establishes the judicial conduct standard that was violated by the trial judge's uncivil behavior.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIrene Olszewska was a tenant in a landlord-tenant dispute. The lease allegedly provided a rental rate of five dollars per week, but the holdover provi…
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 Judicial Disqualification cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Irene Olszewska petitions this court for a writ of prohibition disqualifying the trial judge and also appeals the final judgment for removal of tenant.
We grant the writ of prohibition. The verbal altercations that occurred between Olszewska’s attorney and the court require the judge to disqualify himself.
“A judge should be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, ... lawyers, and others with whom he deals in his official capacity_” Fla. Bar Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3(A)(3) (1991). When a trial judge leaves the realm of civility and directs base vernacular towards an attorney or litigant in open court, there are sufficient grounds to require disqualification. See, e.g., Lamendola v. Grossman, 439 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Brown v. Rowe, 96 Fla. 289, 118 So. 9 (1928) (once a basis for disqualification has been established, prohibition is both appropriate and necessary).
On the merits, we find that the order of default was improper.1 Section 83.-60, Florida Statutes (1989), provides that:
(2) In an action by the landlord for possession of a dwelling unit, if the tenant interposes any defense other than payment, the tenant shall pay into the registry of the court the accrued rent as alleged in the complaint or as determined by the court and the rent which accrues during the pendency of the proceeding, when due. The court shall notify the tenant of such a requirement. Failure of the tenant to pay the rent into the registry of the court as provided herein constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses other than payment, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default without further notice or hearing thereon. (Emphasis added.)
The plaintiff’s complaint did not claim rental payments in arrears. The alleged lease in this case provided a rental rate of five dollars per week, yet its holdover provision charges three hundred fifty dollars per week. This disparity requires the trial court to determine the appropriate rental rate. There is no evidence that such a hearing took place, nor is there any evidence that Olszewska received adequate notice of the requirement to place the proper amount into the circuit court registry.
Accordingly, we grant petitioner’s writ of prohibition and reverse and remand the order of default to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
. The writ of prohibition invalidates the final judgment for removal of tenant because the order was entered after the motion to disqualify was denied.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Town Ctr. OF Islamorada, Inc. v. The Honorable J. Jefferson Overby, 592 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…udges § 110, at 739 (1981). Therefore, a writ of prohibition granting disqualification has been issued in Florida under the following circumstances: where the judge “directs base vernacular towards an attorney ... in open court,” Olszewska v. Ferro, 590 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); the judge says he will “deal with” attorney for having “gone over” his head, Lamendola v. Grossman, 439 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); the judge states that client’s attorney “should not be in this case.” Hayslip v. Douglas, 400…
Authorities Cited
- Brown v. Rowe, 96 Fla. 289 (Fla. 1928)
- Lamendola v. The Honorable Rhea Pincus Grossman, 439 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)