SHAUNA CROES, APPELLANT,
v.
UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL AND SENTRY INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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Shauna Croes appealed an order from the Judge of Compensation Claims dismissing her workers' compensation petitions without prejudice. The court dismissed the appeal, holding that the dismissal order was nonfinal and nonappealable because Croes had refiled her claim under the same case number, and the statute of limitations issue remained to be determined in ongoing proceedings.
The order is nonfinal and nonappealable. Unlike in Martinez v. Collier County Public Schools, where a dismissal without prejudice was final because the claim would be time-barred if refiled, here the parties disagreed about whether a refiled petition would be barred by the statute of limitations, Croes had actually refiled, and the statute of limitations issue remained to be determined in further JCC proceedings.
[1] An order dismissing a petition for benefits without prejudice is generally nonfinal and nonappealable when the refiled petition is docketed under an existing case number…
[2] A dismissal order is considered final and appealable if it is uncontested that refiling the claim would be time-barred.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the JCC's order is nonfinal and nonappealable”
The court's holding that the dismissal order cannot be appealed because judicial labor in the matter has not ended
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCroes filed petitions for workers' compensation benefits that were dismissed without prejudice by the Judge of Compensation Claims. She initially soug…
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PER CURIAM.
Shauna Croes seeks review of an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims dismissing her pending petitions for benefits without prejudice. She initially invoked this court’s jurisdiction by filing a timely petition for writ of certiorari, but on the authority of Martinez v. Collier County Public Schools, 804 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002), this proceeding was converted to an appeal of a final order. Having reconsidered that action in light of the matters alleged in appellees’ motion to dis miss the appeal, we now conclude that the JCC’s order is nonfinal and nonappealable.
In Martinez, we addressed an order that dismissed a claim without prejudice, but it was uncontested that the claim would be time-barred if refiled. In that situation, we held that the JCC’s order was final and appealable. Here, however, the parties do not agree that a refiled petition would be barred by the statute of limitations, and as appellees point out in their motion to dismiss, Croes has in fact refiled her claim. By operation of rule 60Q-6.105(2), Florida Administrative Code,1 the refiled petition is docketed under the existing case number in which the order being appealed herein was rendered, and given the pendency of the refiled petition and the fact the viability of any statute of limitations defense remains to be determined in further proceedings before the JCC, it is apparent that the order at issue here does not mark an end to judicial labor in this matter. On the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that the JCC’s order in this case is nonfinal and nonappealable.2 We further conclude that because appellant will have an adequate remedy by appeal of any adverse final order of the JCC, the exercise of our certiorari jurisdiction is unwarranted.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
BOOTH, BARFIELD and ALLEN, JJ., concur. . Rule 60Q-6.105(2) provides that when a claimant and date of accident are the same as in an existing case, any subsequent petition or claim relating to that claimant and date of accident shall be filed in the existing case.
. We note that as an alternative to refiling her claim, appellant could have requested the entry of a final order of dismissal with prejudice, which could then be appealed. See Augustin v. Blount, Inc., 573 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991).
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Amico v. Emp. Leasing Solutions & Ins. Co. of the Americas, 963 So. 2d 359 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…PER CURIAM. DENIED. See Croes v. University Community Hosp., 886 So. 2d 1040 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). BROWNING, C.J., PADOVANO and THOMAS, JJ., concur.…
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Mendez v. Shoma Dev. Corp. & Transp. Cas., 899 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)…s without prejudice and contemplates the refiling of the petition or the filing of a motion for entry of a final order, we dismiss this appeal as being taken from a nonfinal, nonappealable order. See generally Croes v. University Community Hospital, 886 So. 2d 1040 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004); Zito v. Jeff Harding, Inc., 870 So. 2d 964 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). We likewise decline appellant’s request that we undertake certiorari review of the order, since appellant has failed to demonstrate that the remedy afforded by appe…
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Euceda v. Se. Pers. Leasing, Inc., 33 So. 3d 115 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)…cause the order being appealed herein dismisses the petition for benefits without prejudice and contemplates the refiling of the petition ..., we dismiss this appeal as being taken from a nonfinal, nonappealable order.”); Croes v. Univ. Cmty. Hosp., 886 So. 2d 1040, 1041 n. 2 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (“We note that as an alternative to refiling her claim, appellant could have requested the entry of a final order of dismissal with prejudice, which could then be appealed.”). Martinez v. Collier County Public School,…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Delouis Augustin v. Blount, Inc., 573 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
- Martinez v. Collier Cnty. Pub. Schs., 804 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)