JOSEPH VIEIRA AND NATALIE VIEIRA, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
JOHN DOE AND PERERA INVESTMENT, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION D/B/A ROYAL LIMOUSINES, APPELLEES
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's dismissal of a personal injury action based on alleged discovery violations. The court held that while the plaintiff's interrogatory answers were incomplete, the dismissal sanction was inappropriate because the omissions were clarified during later discovery and the interrogatories were vague.
The trial court abused its discretion by dismissing the case. Although some of Vieira's responses were not straightforward and the interrogatories were vague, the omissions were clarified in subsequent discovery, and the alleged non-disclosures were better addressed through cross-examination than through dismissal.
[1] Dismissal of a case with prejudice is an extreme sanction that should be exercised cautiously and sparingly, requiring a clear showing of fraud, pretense, collusion, or s…
[2] A trial court abuses its discretion when it imposes the harsh sanction of dismissal upon a party for providing responses to interrogatories and deposition testimony that,…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“where a party perpetrates a fraud on the court which permeates the entire proceedings, dismissal of the entire case is proper.”
Establishes the legal standard for when dismissal is an appropriate sanction for discovery violations
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn May 4, 1996, an unknown driver operating a limousine owned by appellees struck Joseph Vieira, causing injuries. Appellees served three sets of inte…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellants and plaintiffs below, Joseph Vieira and Natalie Vieira, appeal the trial court’s order granting appellees’ motion to dismiss based on Joseph Vieira’s alleged false and misleading answers to interrogatories and deposition testimony. Appel-lees cross-appeal contending that the trial court erred in denying their motion for costs, attorney’s fees and sanctions. We find that the harsh sanction of dismissal was inappropriate and, therefore, do not address appellees’ cross-appeal.
Appellants filed a complaint for damages in this case, alleging that on May 4, 1996, an unknown driver, “John Doe,” while driving a limousine owned and operated by appellees, struck Joseph Vieira injuring him about his body and extremities. Ap-pellees served Joseph Vieira with three sets of interrogatories, filed requests for production, and took his deposition testimony. Subsequently, appellees filed a motion to dismiss and/or strike plaintiffs-Vieiras’ pleadings pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(b), alleging that Joseph Vieira failed to disclose numerous pieces of information that were pertinent to the case. The trial court granted the motion finding that Joseph Vieira had misled the court.
We recognize that “ ‘where a party perpetrates a fraud on the court which permeates the entire proceedings, dismissal of the entire case is proper.’ ” Desimone v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So. 2d 1233, 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)(quoting Savino v. Fla. Drive In Theatre Mgmt., Inc., 697 So. 2d 1011, 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)). This power, however, “should be exercised cautiously and sparingly, and only upon a clear showing of fraud, pretense, collusion, or similar wrongdoing.” Tri Star Invs., Inc. v. Miele, 407 So. 2d 292, 293 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). The standard of appellate review is whether the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the case with prejudice. See Hogan v. Dollar Rent A Car Sys., Inc., 783 So. 2d 1211, 1212 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).
Upon a close review of the record, we find that while the record supports the finding that some of Joseph Vieira’s responses to certain interrogatory questions concerning prior injuries and his prior record were not as straightforward as they could have been, the record also demonstrates that many of these questions were vague and imprecise. Indeed, most of the omissions in his answers were clarified in a subsequent set of interrogatories and in his deposition testimony. We find that, on balance, the alleged non-disclosures here are simply more appropriately the fodder for cross-examination than for dismissal of the complaint. Consequently, the record supports a finding that the trial court abused its discretion because there was no clear showing of fraud.
Accordingly, we find that the dismissal of appellants’ lawsuit with prejudice was an inappropriate sanction, and reverse and remand to the trial court for furthering proceedings.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
STEVENSON, GROSS and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.
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McKNIGHT v. Evancheck, 907 So. 2d 699 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…frequent headaches, the prison records were directly contrary to his sworn testimony. The trial court may dismiss a plaintiffs entire case when the “ ‘party perpetrates a fraud on the court which permeates the entire proceedings.’ ” Vieira v. Doe, 813 So. 2d 1030, 1031 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (quoting Savino v. Fla. Drive In Theatre Mgmt., Inc., 697 So. 2d 1011, 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)). “The requisite fraud on the court occurs where ‘it can be demonstrated, clearly and convincingly, that a party has sentiently…
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Taylor v. Serafina A. Martell, 893 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…(Fla. 4th DCA 1992), the record did not establish that a plaintiff had any prior knowledge of her counsel’s inclusion in the complaint of her husband’s fraudulent claim. In both Arzuman v. Saud, 843 So. 2d 950 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), and Vieira v. Doe, 813 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), there was no clear showing of fraud. The showing of fraud in this ease went well beyond the requirement that a dismissal must be supported by “ ‘a clear showing of fraud, pretense, collusion, or similar wrongdoing.’ ” Vieira, 81…
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Calafell v. State, 263 So. 3d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)
Authorities Cited
- TRI Star Invs., Inc. v. Miele, 407 So. 2d 292 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Williams v. State, 697 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- Savino v. Fla. Drive IN Theatre Mgmt., Inc., 697 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- Desimone v. OLD Dominion Ins. Co., 740 So. 2d 1233 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Jonah Hogan and Julie L. Hogan v. Dollar Rent A CAR Sys., Inc., 783 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)