ARCHITECTURAL SHEET METAL, INC., PETITIONER,
v.
RLI INSURANCE COMPANY AND HM2 CORPORATION, RESPONDENT

Fla. 5th DCA | 2006-08-25
No. 5D06-1413
PLEUS, C.J. and SAWAYA, J., concur.
936 So. 2d 1181 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2006) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Architectural Sheet Metal sought mandamus and certiorari relief to compel immediate disbursement of funds from an arbitration award held in the court registry and to quash the trial court's order scheduling an evidentiary hearing on attorney's fees. The court denied both petitions, holding that mandamus was unavailable because the trial court possessed discretionary authority to stay execution pending determination of fee entitlements.


Holding

The court denied both the mandamus and certiorari petitions. Mandamus was unavailable because the trial court possessed discretionary authority under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.550(b) to stay execution of the judgment based on good cause, and mandamus can only enforce ministerial duties, not discretionary ones. The certiorari petition was denied as there was no departure from essential requirements of law or irreparable damage.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court has the authority to stay execution on a judgment entered following an arbitration award during the pendency of further proceedings, such as attorney's fees…

[2] Mandamus relief is not available to compel a trial court to disburse funds when the court has discretion to stay execution on a judgment.

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

Key Quotes

“mandamus can only be used to enforce, not establish, a legal right”

Establishes the fundamental limitation on mandamus relief and explains why it is unavailable to compel discretionary judicial acts.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Architectural Sheet Metal obtained a damage award in arbitration against HM2 Corporation and RLI Insurance Company. The trial court confirmed the awar…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
ORFINGER, J.

ORFINGER, J.

Architectural Sheet Metal, Inc. (“Subcontractor”) obtained a damage award in an arbitration proceeding against HM2 Corporation (“Contractor”) and RLI Insurance Company (“Surety”). The trial court confirmed the award and entered judgment against Contractor and Surety. However, over Subcontractor’s objection, the court permitted Contractor and Surety to deposit the award amount plus interest into the registry of the court, pending the assessment of attorney’s fees. In so doing, the court indicated its intention to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine which party had prevailed on the significant issues in the arbitration proceedings for the purpose of determining which party was entitled to its fees.

Subcontractor now seeks mandamus relief to compel the trial court to immediately authorize the disbursement of the funds held in the court registry, and certiorari relief to quash the trial court’s order indicating its intention to conduct an evidentiary hearing regarding the issue of attorney’s fees. We deny the petition for certiorari without further comment as we see no departure from the essential requirements of law and no irreparable damage. We also deny Subcontractor’s petition for writ of mandamus as mandamus can only be used to enforce, not establish, a legal right. See Walker v. Walker, 654 So. 2d 1049 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Phillip J. Padovano, Florida Appellate Practice, § 28.2 (2005 ed.). The official duty in question must be ministerial and not discretionary. Soto v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Hernando County, 716 So. 2d 863, 864 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). A duty or act is defined as “ministerial” when there is no room for the exercise of discretion, and the performance being required is directed by law. Town of Manalapan v. Rechler, 674 So. 2d 789, 790 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (citing Solomon v. Sanitarians' Registration Bd., 155 So. 2d 353 (Fla.1963)).

Since a judgment entered following an arbitration award is “enforced as any other judgment or decree,” see section 682.15, Florida Statutes (2005), the trial court has the authority to stay execution on the judgment during the pendency of the further proceedings based on a finding of “good cause.” See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.550(b)1; Carpet Concepts of St. Petersburg v. Architectural Concepts, Inc., 559 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). Because the trial court had this discretion, mandamus is not available.

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS AND WRIT OF CERTIORARI DENIED.

PLEUS, C.J. and SAWAYA, J., concur. . Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.550(b), entitled “Executions and Final Process,” provides that “[t]he court before which an execution or other process based on a final judgment is returnable may stay such execution or other process and suspend proceedings thereon for good cause on motion and notice to all adverse parties.”


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Burgess, 168 So. 3d 316 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)
    …is not limited to compelling a ministerial act. “A duty or act is defined as ‘ministerial’ when there is no room for the exercise of discretion, and the performance being required is directed by law.” Architectural Sheet Metal, Inc. v. RLI Ins. Co., 936 So. 2d 1181, 1182 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). Here, in addition to compelling a hearing, the State seeks to compel the trial court to rule in a certain way, i.e., to designate the Respondent as a sexual predator based upon his Indiana conviction. “A defendant is entit…
  • Perea v. Almeyda (9th Cir. Ct. App. Div. 2007)
    …te and administrative rules clothe the Chief Health Officer and the Department with the discretion in making those determinations. Mandamus will not lie where a determination or act is discretionary. Architectural Sheet Metal, Inc., v. RLI Ins. Co., 936 So. 2d 1181, 1182 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (holding that because the trial court had discretion mandamus could not issue). Based on the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Perea’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus is DENIED. DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw