RANDALL S. BROWNELL, APPELLANT,
v.
LISA J. BROWNELL, APPELLEE
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In a dissolution of marriage action, the trial court struck the husband's pleadings apparently as a sanction for non-compliance with mediation and child support arrears. The appellate court reversed, finding the sanction was too severe and constituted an abuse of discretion, particularly given the sensitive matters of child custody and support at issue.
The trial court abused its discretion by striking the husband's pleadings as a sanction. The sanction was too severe for the conduct appearing in the record, particularly in a dissolution action involving sensitive matters of child custody and support.
[1] Striking a party's pleadings as a sanction for non-compliance with court orders is an abuse of discretion when the sanction is too severe for the conduct shown in the rec…
[2] A trial court may not strike a party's pleadings on its own motion without reciting its reasoning.
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“For whatever reason, it was too severe a sanction for what appears in this record and constituted an abuse of discretion.”
States the court's conclusion that striking pleadings was disproportionate to the conduct shown in the record.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe husband filed a pro se petition for dissolution with a signed settlement agreement providing shared parental responsibility. He later filed an ame…
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PATTERSON, Acting Chief Judge.
In this dissolution of marriage action, the trial court, on its own motion, struck the husband’s pleadings. We reverse.
The case began when the husband filed his pro se petition for dissolution, which stated that the parties had agreed on shared parental responsibility for their daughter, who would reside with the wife. Attached to the petition was a form settlement agreement that both parties had signed. The wife filed a pro se answer. The husband then, through counsel, filed an amended petition which sought sole parental responsibility of the child and to vacate the settlement agreement. The wife, through counsel, filed an amended answer and counterclaim seeking shared parental responsibility. The court referred the case to family mediation.
The husband moved for trial, and the court set a pretrial conference. At the conclusion of that proceeding, the trial court entered a pretrial order and found that the husband: (1) had not fully complied with the mediation order; (2) was in arrears in child support for which he was in civil contempt; and (3) was the subject of an arrest warrant for failing to comply with an order to appear and show cause on the support issue. The court concluded the order by striking the husband’s pleadings and commenting that this now resolved the issues of custody, child support, alimony, and the husband’s attempt to set aside the settlement agreement. The wife had not requested the striking of the pleadings, and the order does not recite the court’s reasoning.
We are left to assume that the court struck the pleadings as a sanction for the husband’s conduct. For whatever reason, it was too severe a sanction for what appears in this record and constituted an abuse of discretion. See Neal v. Neal, 636 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (abuse of discretion to strike wife’s pleadings when record did not support finding of willful violation of discovery order and husband could not demonstrate meaningful prejudice to justify extreme sanction); Chase v. Chase, 519 So. 2d 637 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (severe sanction of striking husband’s pleadings for willful failure to comply with discovery orders in dissolution action was inappropriate, especially when sensitive matters such as child custody and support were at issue).
We therefore reverse and remand with instructions that the husband’s pleadings be reinstated.
WHATLEY, J., and PADGETT, J. ROGERS, Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Delphia Neal v. Evans Clay Neal, 636 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
- Chase v. Chase, 519 So. 2d 637 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)