JOSEPHINE PARDO, APPELLANT,
v.
THE DECOPLAGE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLEE
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Josephine Pardo appealed an order denying her motion for relief from judgment in a condominium dispute. The trial court had entered a judgment against Pardo for attorney's fees despite the fact that she had sold her unit over two years before the lawsuit was filed and the injunction was not directed against her. The appellate court reversed, finding that Pardo was improperly included in the judgment due to counsel's mistake.
The trial court's judgment against Josephine Pardo for attorney's fees should be vacated because there was no legal basis for including her in the judgment. Relief from judgment was proper under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) based on the mistake of including a party who had no legal liability, and alternatively because trial counsel agreed to the judgment without her authority.
[1] A judgment entered against a party for whom there is no legal basis for relief may be vacated under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) as a mistake.
[2] An agreement by counsel to a judgment against a party without consulting that party constitutes a settlement made without authority, which the party may disavow.
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“Ms. Pardo argues, and The Decoplage does not dispute, that there is no legal basis for the entry of this judgment against her.”
Establishes that even the opposing party conceded there was no legal basis for including Pardo in the judgment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Decoplage Condominium Association sued to enjoin commercial use of a condominium unit, naming as defendants Josephine Pardo (former owner), her da…
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COPE, J.
Josephine Pardo appeals an order denying her motion for relief from judgment. We reverse.
The Decoplage Condominium Association, Inc. brought a successful injunction action to prohibit the use of unit 623 for commercial purposes. The defendants were appellant Josephine Pardo, the former owner of the unit; her daughter, Beatrice, the owner at the time of the suit; and Jose Nino, the tenant. The Decoplage contended that the tenant was conducting a real estate business from his unit, in violation of condominium rules. The injunction was affirmed on appeal without opinion. Nino v. The Decoplage Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 773 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).
The Decoplage moved for attorney’s fees under the condominium statute. See § 718.303, Fla. Stat. (1997). Counsel for The Decoplage prepared a judgment for its attorney’s fees, to which counsel for defendants agreed. The trial court entered the agreed judgment which was an award of $25,856 against all three defendants, jointly and severally.
Eventually, defendant Josephine Pardo became aware that this judgment had been entered against her. She retained new counsel and moved for relief from judgment. The trial court denied relief, and defendant Josephine Pardo has appealed.
Ms. Pardo argues, and The Deco-plage does not dispute, that there is no legal basis for the entry of this judgment against her. That is so because Ms. Pardo had sold her condominium unit to her daughter over two years prior to The De-coplage’s filing of the instant lawsuit in 1998. The deed had been duly recorded. The injunction did not enter any relief against Josephine Pardo, but was directed only to defendants Jose Nino and Beatrice Pardo.
We will indulge the presumption that trial counsel for The Decoplage would not knowingly prepare a final judgment which would grant relief against a party, when there was no legal basis for relief against that party. The record is clear that trial counsel for defendants simply failed to note that Josephine Pardo had been included in the judgment when she should have been excluded. This amounts to the sort of “mistake” which justifies relief under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b). See Curbelo v. Ullman, 571 So. 2d 443, 445 (Fla.1990); Meyer v. Scutieri, 539 So. 2d 602, 603 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).
As an alternative basis of relief, trial counsel agreed to the entry of judgment against Josephine Pardo without consulting her. This amounted to a settlement made without authority — which Ms. Pardo is permitted to disavow. See Cross-Aero Corp. v. Cross-Aero Service Corp., 326 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).
For the stated reasons, the order under review is reversed and the cause remanded with directions to vacate the attorney’s fee judgment as to Josephine Pardo.*
*
We would have hoped that The Decoplage would have consented to vacate the judgment as to Josephine Pardo rather than necessitating litigation of the issue. The Decoplage's appellate counsel was not trial counsel.
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Citator
Cited By
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Iman Emami v. Progressive Brands, Inc., 225 So. 3d 983 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…is significantly different from a party's attorney’s unauthorized stipulations and settlements rejected in Noeling v. State, 87 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 1956), Kramer v. City of Lakeland, 38 So. 2d 126 (Fla. 1948), Pardo v. The Decoplage Condominium Ass'n, 833 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002), Cross-Aero Corp. v. Cross-Aero Service Corp., 326 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), Bursten v. Green, 172 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965), and Palm Beach Royal Hotel, Inc. v. Breese, 154 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963).…
Authorities Cited
- Arnaldo Curbelo, M.D. v. Ullman, 571 So. 2d 443 (Fla. 1990)
- Cross-Aero Corp. v. Cross-Aero Serv. Corp., 326 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
- Mortimer Meyer v. Scutieri, 539 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)