OSCAR VILA MASOT, APPELLANT,
v.
HOTELES DORAL, C.A., ET AL., APPELLEE
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Oscar Vila Masot obtained summary judgment against Hoteles Doral after Hoteles failed to secure new counsel within a court-ordered deadline and did not appear at the summary judgment hearing. The trial court vacated the judgment based on excusable neglect, but the appellate court reversed, finding that Hoteles failed to demonstrate sufficient diligence or excusable neglect to warrant vacation of the final judgment.
Hoteles did not present sufficient evidence of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect to warrant vacating the final summary judgment. The party's failure to obey the court's order to secure new counsel within 30 days, failure to provide an adequate address for litigation continuation, and lack of diligent participation in proceedings demonstrated insufficient diligence.
[1] A party's failure to take necessary steps to protect its own interests, standing alone, cannot be grounds to vacate a judgment to the detriment of other innocent parties.
[2] The law requires diligence from parties subject to it, and this diligence cannot be lightly excused.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“Failure of a party to take the required steps necessary to protect its own interests, cannot, standing alone, be grounds to vacate judicially authorized acts to the detriment of other innocent parties; the law requires certain diligence of those subject to it, and this diligence cannot be lightly excused.”
Establishes the governing legal standard for excusable neglect and emphasizes that parties have a duty of diligence that cannot be casually disregarded.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHoteles Doral sued Masot for breach of fiduciary duties while he served as President and Chairman of the Board. After Hoteles' counsel moved to withdr…
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PER CURIAM.
Oscar Vila Masot (Masot) seeks reversal of a lower court order vacating the final summary judgment it had issued in his favor. We reverse.
In this action, Hoteles Doral, C.A. (Ho-teles) brought suit against Masot for alleged breach of his fiduciary duties while acting as President and Chairman of the Board of Hoteles. When. Hoteles’ counsel moved to withdraw, the trial judge ordered Hoteles to find new counsel within 30 days. Hoteles indicated that the parties should send all correspondence to its Venezuelan address during this 30-day interim. Hoteles failed to secure counsel within the thirty day period, and Masot filed a motion for summary judgment.
The lower court judge, after a hearing, granted summary judgment in favor of Ma-sot. Hoteles never appeared at the hearing because, they claim, they never received the notice of hearing due to the unreliability of Venezuelan mail service. Hoteles also asserted that it notified the Clerk of Court that all correspondence should be sent to its former counsel in Miami, in order to avoid the Venezuelan mail altogether. Hoteles apparently never notified Masot of this address change. As soon as Hoteles found out about the default summary judgment, it filed a motion to vacate it, arguing excusable neglect as provided in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540. The trial judge granted Hoteles’ motion after a hearing, and Masot asks us to reverse this vacation.
The issue before us is whether Hoteles presented sufficient evidence of excusable neglect to prevail on its Rule 1.540 motion. “Failure of a party to take the required steps necessary to protect its own interests, can-, not, standing alone, be grounds to vacate judicially authorized acts to the detriment of other innocent parties; the law requires certain diligence of those subject to it, and this diligence cannot be lightly excused.” John Crescent, Inc. v. Schwartz, 382 So. 2d 383, 385-86 (Fla. 4th DCA) cert. denied, 389 So. 2d 1113 (Fla.1980). Hoteles, the plaintiff in the action below, failed to obey the court’s order to secure new counsel within thirty days, and subsequently failed to provide an adequate address for the timely continuation of the litigation it initiated. Hoteles has additionally failed to diligently participate in the instant proceedings. We find that Hoteles has not rendered a sufficient showing of mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect to warrant the vacating of final summary judgment.
Accordingly, we reverse the order vacating final summary judgment.
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Golden Gate Homes, L.C. v. L & G Eng'g Servs., Inc., 974 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)…94) (“A trial judge has the inherent power to do those things necessary to enforce its orders, to conduct its business in a proper manner, and to protect the court from acts obstructing the administration of justice.”); Masot v. Hoteles Doral, C.A., 645 So. 2d 184 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); see Szucs, 893 So. 2d at 708. Affirmed. . Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(b) requires motions for rehearing to be served no later than ten days from the date the order is filed.…
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Seay Outdoor Advertising, Inc. v. Locklin, 965 So. 2d 325 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…sible error because a four-month delay between the time All American found out about the default judgment and the motion to vacate was not an exercise of due diligence that precluded the granting of a motion to vacate); Masot v. Hoteles Doral, C.A., 645 So. 2d 184, 185 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (reversing the order vacating the final summary judgment, holding that Hoteles did not make a sufficient showing of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect because it failed to obey a court’s order to secure new…
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Wolff v. Piwko, 104 So. 3d 372 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…to the Wolffs’ claims, Piwko’s motion under Rule 1.540 fell short. Piwko’s own failure to take the requisite steps to protect his interests is not a sufficient basis upon which to vacate the default final judgment. See Masot v. Hoteles Doral, C.A., 645 So. 2d 184 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994). Reversed and remanded, with directions to reinstate the default final judgment entered February 16, 2011. . Piwko’s appellate counsel here did not represent him in the proceedings in the circuit and county courts. . If Piwko i…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- John Crescent, Inc. v. Schwartz, 382 So. 2d 383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)