JOHN ALAN SWAIT, APPELLANT,
v.
TRACY LYNETTE SWAIT, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in granting a motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution because the appellee failed to provide the required notice and opportunity to recommence prosecution under the amended rule.
[1] A dismissal for lack of prosecution is final for purposes of appellate review, even though it is without prejudice.
[2] The abuse of discretion standard applies to a trial court's determination of good cause for lack of prosecution.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant filed a supplemental petition for modification of alimony. Appellee filed a motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution under rule 1.420(e). T…
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SHAHOOD, J.
John Alan Swait (“appellant”) filed a supplemental petition for modification of alimony. Tracy Lynette Swait (“appel-lee”) filed an amended motion to dismiss appellant’s petition for lack of prosecution pursuant to rule 1.420(e), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure (2006). The trial court granted appellee’s motion. We reverse and remand with directions to the court to reinstate appellant’s supplemental petition.
“Although dismissals for lack of prosecution pursuant to rule 1.420(e) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are without prejudice, and not res judicata, they are final for purposes of appellate review.” Hunnewell v. Palm Beach County, 925 So. 2d 468, 469 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). “The abuse of discretion standard is triggered only if the trial court must make a determination of good cause.” Id. (quoting Metro. Dade County v. Hall, 784 So. 2d 1087, 1090 n. 4 (Fla.2001)). Here, we review the trial court’s construction of a rule of civil procedure using the de novo standard. Saia Motor Freight Line, Inc. v. Reid, 930 So. 2d 598, 599 (Fla.2006).
Rule 1.420(e), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure (2006), provides:
In all actions in which it appears on the face of the record that no activity by filing of pleadings, order of court, or otherwise has occurred for a period of 10 months, and no order staying the action has been issued nor stipulation for stay approved by the court, any interested person ... may serve notice to all parties that no such activity has occurred. If no such record activity has occurred within the 10 months immediately preceding the service of such notice, and no record activity occurs within the 60 days immediately following the service of such notice ... the action shall be dismissed by the court.... Mere inaction for a period of less than 1 year shall not be sufficient cause for dismissal for failure to prosecute.
The language requiring notice and a sixty-day grace period was added in the 2005 Amendment to the rule. The newly amended rule became effective January 1, 2006. See In re Amendments to The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 917 So. 2d 176, 177 (Fla.2005). Regarding the 2005 Amendment, the Committee Notes to rule 1.420(e) provide: “Subdivision (e) has been amended to provide that an action may not be dismissed for lack of prosecution with-, out prior notice to the claimant and adequate opportunity for the claimant to recommence prosecution of the action to avert dismissal.” This court recognized in Hunnewell that the amendment sets out a new procedural framework. 925 So. 2d at 469 n. 1.
“Under the prior version of the rule, the defending party could file a motion to dismiss without notice if there had been no record activity in the case for one year.” Philip J. Padovano, Florida Civil Practice § 12.3 (2007 ed.). Judge Padovano explains the new procedure as follows:
As a prerequisite to filing a motion to dismiss under this rule, the defending party must serve notice on the claimant that there has been no record activity in the case for ten months. The claimant then has sixty days to take some action to advance the progress of the case. If there is no record activity during the sixty-day period following service of the notice, the defending party may then file a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute.
Id. (emphasis supplied).
The new rule does not change that the minimum period of inactivity required pri-or to a motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution is one year. However, notice is now a prerequisite to the motion. “[E]ven if the absence of record activity has continued for more than a year, an action cannot be dismissed under the amended rule without the required notice and opportunity to re-commence prosecution.” Bruce J. Ber-man, Florida Civil Procedure ¶ 420.5 (2007 ed.).
Appellee’s motion to dismiss, the hearing on that motion, and the trial court’s order all occurred in 2006, after the effective date of the amended rule. The amended rule applies in the present case. See Erickson v. Breedlove, 937 So. 2d 805, 806 n. 1 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)(applying pre amendment version of the statute where all relevant events at the trial court level took place prior to effective date of the amendment); Cabrera v. Pazos, Larrinaga & Taylor, P.A., 922 So. 2d 422, 424 n. 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)(same).
The last record activity prior to appel-lee’s motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution was appellee’s motion for extension of time to file response to pleadings. Eleven months passed. The appropriate action for appellee to take under the rule once ten months had passed was to serve appellant with notice that no action had occurred within a ten-month period. Appellant would then have sixty days to take appropriate action to avert dismissal. Instead, appellee skipped the notice requirement and went directly to filing the motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution. We hold that it was error for the trial court to grant appellee’s motion.
Based on the foregoing, we reverse and remand for the trial court to reinstate appellant’s supplemental petition for modification of alimony.
Reversed and Remanded.
GROSS and MAY, JJ., concur.
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Weston TC LLLP v. CNDP Mktg. Inc., 66 So. 3d 370 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)…ease for it to avoid dismissal under Rule 1.420(e). Whether there has been “record activity” within the meaning of Rule 1.420(e) is a question of law reviewed de novo, as it involves the construction of a [*372] procedural rule. See Swait v. Swait, 958 So. 2d 552, 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). The current version of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(e) provides: (e) Failure to Prosecute. In all actions in which it appears on the face of the record that no activity by filing of pleadings, order of court, or…
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Mote Wellness & Rehab, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 So. 3d 191 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021)…04 So. 3d 1232, 1236 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (“With respect to the characterization of motions, Florida courts place substance over form.”). 2 A dismissal for lack of prosecution is a final order for purposes of appellate review. See Swait v. Swait, 958 So. 2d 552, 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). 3 In the present case, the record on appeal contains no notice to the Provider of the court’s intent to consider dismissing the case for failure to prosecute. Accordingly, the dismissal order was entered in error.…
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Fuzzell v. E.I. DuPONT DE Nemours & Co., Inc., 987 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)…Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(e). The controlling issue in this appeal is whether the trial court reversibly erred in applying the pre-amendment version of rule 1.420(e). This issue is a question of law and, therefore, is reviewed de novo. Swait v. Swait, 958 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). All parties agree that we must apply the amended rule prospectively because the rule is a procedural rule and the language of the amendment does not express any intention that the amendment should be applied retroactively. Howe…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Saia Motor Freight Line, Inc. v. Reid, 930 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 2006)
- Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Hall, 784 So. 2d 1087 (Fla. 2001)
- In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure (two Year Cycle), 917 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 2005)
- Elwood J. Hunnewell, Jr. v. Palm Beach Cnty., 925 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
- Cabrera v. Pazos, Larrinaga & Taylor, P.A., 922 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)
- Erickson v. Breedlove, 937 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)