LAWRENCE LEE JONES, APPELLANT,
v.
T. FERGUSON, FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR OF GLADES CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY, APPELLEE
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The court reversed the trial court's dismissal of Jones's complaint under section 57.085 because the court failed to first determine whether Jones was indigent, as required by statute.
A trial court must adjudicate a plaintiff's indigency status before dismissing a complaint under section 57.085, Florida Statutes.
[1] A trial court must adjudicate a plaintiff's indigency status pursuant to section 57.085(6) before dismissing a complaint for insufficient legal grounds under section 57.0…
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The court's holding regarding the procedural requirement for dismissal under section 57.085
Lawrence Lee Jones, an inmate at Glades Correctional Institution, filed a complaint against T. Ferguson, the Food Service Director, which the trial co…
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PER CURIAM.
Lawrence Lee Jones appeals from the trial court’s dismissal of his complaint pursuant to section 57.085, Florida Statutes (2007). The order found insufficient legal grounds for Jones’s cause of action and directed the Clerk of Court not to file the case. We hold that it was error to dismiss the case without first finding Jones indigent. See Craft v. Holloway, 975 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (finding the trial court’s dismissal of the appellant’s complaint under section 57.085 was premature because he had not yet been adjudicated indigent as required by section 57.085(6)).
We do not reach the issue of whether Jones’s petition stated a cause of action. Upon remand, if the trial court adjudicates Jones indigent and again dismisses his claim because it is legally insufficient, we recommend that the trial court state its reasons for dismissal. See Drayton v. Moore, 807 So. 2d 819, 823 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (recommending that if a trial court finds indigency on remand, and again dis misses the claim, it should “detail the deficiencies in the petition that justify dismissal”).
We affirm without discussion Jones’s claim that the trial court erred in not retaining all of the original pleadings necessary to effectuate appellate review.
Affirmed in Part; Reversed in Part.
SHAHOOD, C.J., TAYLOR and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Jones v. Captain Ana Joseph, 989 So. 2d 744 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…have held that a trial court may not dismiss a prisoner’s suit pursuant to subsection (6) of the statute until it has first adjudicated the prisoner indigent. See Drayton v. Moore, 807 So. 2d 819, 823 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); see also Jones v. Ferguson, 979 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Craft v. Holloway, 975 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Osterback v. Turner, 837 So. 2d 604 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). Appellant insists that the trial court violated the principles expressed in these cases and that the judge should n…
Authorities Cited
- Wallace v. State, 807 So. 2d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
- Craft v. Holloway, 975 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)