WENDALL HALL, APPELLANT,
v.
CAPTAIN KNIGHT AND SERGEANT RUDDY, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2008-07-17
No. 1D08-0051
ALLEN, DAVIS, and HAWKES, JJ., Concur.
986 So. 2d 659 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2008)

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Synopsis

An inmate appealed the dismissal of his complaint against two correctional officers and an order prohibiting future pro se filings. The appellate court reversed, holding that the complaint stated a sufficient cause of action against the officers in their individual capacity and that the trial court erred in barring future pro se filings without first issuing a show cause order.


Holding

The trial court erred in dismissing the complaint because the allegations were sufficient to state a cause of action against the officers in their individual capacity under section 768.28(9)(a), Florida Statutes. The trial court also erred in prohibiting future pro se filings without first issuing a show cause order to afford the appellant notice and an opportunity to be heard.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint alleging facts sufficient to state a cause of action against a correctional officer in their individual capacity should not be dismissed for failure to state…

[2] A trial court may not prohibit a litigant from filing future pro se actions without first issuing an order to show cause to afford the litigant notice and an opportunity…

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Key Quotes

“We agree with Appellant that the trial court erred in dismissing his complaint for the failure to state a cause of action against Appellees in their individual capacity.”

The court's holding that the dismissal of the complaint was erroneous.

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Facts & Procedural History

Wendall Hall, an inmate, filed a complaint against Captain Knight and Sergeant Ruddy, two correctional officers. The trial court dismissed the complai…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Wendall Hall, an inmate, appeals an order dismissing his complaint against Ap-pellees, Captain Knight and Sergeant Ruddy, two correctional officers, and prohibiting him from filing future pro se actions.

We agree with Appellant that the trial court erred in dismissing his complaint for the failure to state a cause of action against Appellees in their individual capacity. See Hall v. Officer Knipp, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 982 So. 2d 1196, 1196 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (reversing the dismissal order as to the correctional officer because the appellant’s allegation was sufficient to state a cause of action against the officer in his individual capacity); Medberry v. McCallister, 937 So. 2d 808, 814 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (reversing the dismissal order because the appellant’s pleadings tracked all of the pertinent language in section 768.28(9)(a), Florida Statutes, allowing the appellees, two correctional officers, to be sued and held personally liable).

We also agree that the trial court erred in prohibiting Appellant from filing future pro se actions without first issuing a show cause order. See Petty v. State, 926 So. 2d 445, 445 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (reversing the trial court’s order to the extent it barred future pro se filings without providing the appellant notice and an opportunity to respond); Jackson v. Parkhouse, 826 So. 2d 478, 479 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002) (noting that before a litigant can be barred from filing future pro se actions, “a court must first issue an order to show cause in order to afford the litigant notice and an opportunity to be heard”).

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.

ALLEN, DAVIS, and HAWKES, JJ., Concur.


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