CHERYL MCKENNA, APPELLANT,
v.
CAMINO REAL VILLAGE ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLEE
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The trial court erred by entering a final order disposing of the cause while an appeal from a non-final order was pending.
[1] A trial court lacks jurisdiction to render a final order disposing of a cause while an appeal of a non-final order in the same cause is pending.
[2] A non-final order requiring a party to deposit funds into the court registry, without resolving the ultimate issues between the parties, is not a final order.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA condominium owner appealed a trial court's order striking her pleadings, entering a default, and directing a writ of possession. The order was enter…
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A condominium owner appeals a judgment striking her pleadings, entering a default, and directing the issuance of a writ of possession in favor of another entity. She argues that the trial court erred in a series of orders that led to the entry of the judgment. She argues, among other issues, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order on appeal. We agree and reverse.
This case originated from the condominium owner’s failure to pay assessment fees to the condominium association. In earlier litigation, the association filed a complaint for foreclosure and damages against the owner. The trial court granted the association’s motion for summary judgment against the owner and entered a judgment of foreclosure. We reversed. McKenna v. Camino Real, 877 So.2d 900 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).
On remand, the association amended its foreclosure complaint to add Real Estate Depot, Inc. (RED), an entity that acquired a deed from the owner in 2003.1 The trial *1174court entered a final judgment of foreclosure against RED, but denied the motion as to the owner. The judgment stated:
The Motion for Final Summary Judgment is Denied as to [the owner] and this shall proceed to trial ... against her. The Certificate of Title ... shall not foreclose any interest of [the owner], if any, nor shall any writ of possession be issued against her without further order of this Court.
At the foreclosure sale, JPL Properties, Inc. (JPL) purchased RED’s interest in the property. The clerk received the funds from the foreclosure sale and disbursed that amount to the association in full satisfaction of the final judgment. The clerk issued a certificate of sale and title to JPL.
The trial court denied JPL’s first motion for writ of possession without prejudice, but issued an order on August 13, 2007, requiring the owner to: (1) file a notice of homeowner’s association assessment amounts due and owing; and, (2) deposit that sum and the amount paid by JPL at the foreclosure sale into the court registry within ten (10) days. The owner appealed that order on September 12, 2007, but never complied with it.2 JPL then filed an amended motion seeking an order to show cause or for default and for writ of possession due to the owner’s non-compliance.
On October 10, 2007, while the appeal of the August order was pending, the trial court entered a judgment striking the owner’s pleadings, entering a default, and directing the issuance of a writ of possession in favor of JPL. The October 10th order (1) took judicial notice that the owner did not file a notice with the court of the sums due to the association; (2) found the owner failed to deposit that amount along with the amount paid by JPL at the foreclosure sale into the court registry; (3) found the association’s lien superior to the rights of the owner and RED; (4) found JPL to be a bona fide purchaser for value; and (5) ordered the clerk to issue a writ of possession in favor of JPL within thirty (30) days from the date of the order. It is from this order that the owner now appeals.
The owner argues that the trial court erred in entering a final judgment while her appeal from the August order was pending. We agree.
Rule 9.130(f) of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure provides:
In the absence of a stay, during the pendency of a review of a non-final order, the lower tribunal may proceed with all matters, including trial or final hearing; provided that the lower tribunal may not render a final order disposing of the cause pending such review.
(Emphasis added). In turn, we lack jurisdiction to review the merits of an order entered by a tribunal lacking jurisdiction. See Bemben v. Chock, 938 So.2d 565, 566 (Fla. 2d DCA2006).3
The procedural quagmire in which this appeal has landed requires some untangling. The August order was non-final, as it simply required the owner to deposit monies into the court’s registry, but did not resolve the issues between the owner and JPL. A final order is one in which the trial court’s labor has come to an end. McGurn v. Scott, 596 So.2d 1042, 1043 (Fla.1992). Thus, during the pendency of the appeal from the August order, rule *11759.130(f) prohibited the trial court from rendering “a final order disposing of the cause pending such review.”
The October order was a final order because it entered a default judgment against the owner and ordered the issuance of a writ of possession. It finally resolved the issues between the owner and JPL. That is true notwithstanding the association still had a claim pending against the owner in the trial court. Mendez v. W. Flagler Family Ass'n, 303 So.2d 1, 5 (Fla.1974) (“[W]hen it is obvious that a separate and distinct cause of action is pleaded which is not interdependent with other pleaded claims, it should be appealable if dismissed with finality at trial level and not delayed of appeal because of the pen-dency of other claims between the parties.”). By entering a final order in favor of JPL, the trial court ran afoul of rule 9.130(f).
We therefore reverse the order of October 10, 2007, and remand the case to the trial court.
Reversed and remanded.
STEVENSON and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.
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Apthorp v. Detzner, 162 So. 3d 236 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…a declaratory judgment.”). Our conclusion that no case or controversy exists in this case necessitates a finding that the trial court erred in exercising its jurisdiction to render a declaratory judgment. McKenna v. Camino Real Village Ass’n, Inc., 8 So. 3d 1172, 1174 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009); In re Coleman’s Estate, 103 So. 2d 237, 240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958). Because Apthorp failed to present a justicia-ble controversy and because the trial court lacked jurisdiction to issue the declaratory judgment, we DISMISS the…
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Gibson v. Progress Bank OF Fla., 54 So. 3d 1058 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)…ent is a nullity because the trial court entered it during the pendency of the Sell [*1061] ers’ interlocutory appeal of an order denying their motion to dissolve the Buyers’ lis pendens. See Fla. R.P. 9.130(f)”); McKenna v. Camino Real Vill. Ass’n, 8 So. 3d 1172, 1174 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (holding that the final judgment was entered without jurisdiction while a nonfinal appeal was still pending). A void judgment is “[a] judgment that has no legal force or effect, the invalidity of which may be asserted by an…
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Publix Supermarkets, Inc. v. Conte, 169 So. 3d 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)…ers entered during the pen-dency of an interlocutory appeal are entered without jurisdiction and are “a nullity.” Connor Realty, Inc. v. Ocean Terrace N. Condo. Ass’n, 572 So. 2d 4, 4 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); see also McKenna v. Camino Real Vill. Ass’n, 8 So. 3d 1172, 1175 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). Because the final judgment here was entered while an interlocutory appeal was pending before us, the final judgment was entered without jurisdiction and must be reversed. However, as noted by the [*1267] appellee, the int…
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
- Mendez v. W. Flagler Fam. Ass'n, Inc., 303 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1974)
- McGURN v. Scott, 596 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 1992)
- Carter v. Dorman, 385 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Katz v. NME Hosps., Inc., 791 So. 2d 1127 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Settles v. State, 938 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)
- McKENNA v. Camino Real Vill. Ass'n, Inc., 877 So. 2d 900 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)