WEKIVA SPRINGS RESERVE HOMEOWNERS, ETC., PETITIONER,
v.
JOHN J. BINNS AND RENEE BINNS, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal granted certiorari review and quashed a circuit court decision that had reversed a county court judgment in favor of a homeowners association. The circuit court improperly reweighed evidence in a non-jury trial regarding the association's alleged willful failure to comply with a homeowner's statutory record request.
The circuit court improperly reweighed the evidence and substituted its judgment for that of the county court. An appellate court is not permitted to reweigh evidence or disturb a lower court's factual determinations from a non-jury trial unless they are unsupported by competent and substantial evidence. The circuit court's order represented a departure from clearly established law warranting certiorari review.
[1] Second-tier certiorari review is granted only when there has been a violation of a clearly established principle of law resulting in a miscarriage of justice.
[2] An appellate court is not permitted to reweigh the evidence or substitute its judgment for that of the lower court.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is axiomatic that an appellate court, in this case the circuit court, is not permitted to reweigh the evidence or substitute its judgment for that of the county court.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that appellate courts cannot reweigh evidence from a trial court's decision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Binns requested records from Wekiva Springs Reserve Homeowners Association pursuant to Florida Statute section 720.303(5). The Association failed …
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Wekiva Springs Reserve Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Association”) seeks second-tier certiorari review of an opinion of the circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity. The circuit court reversed a county court judgment entered in favor of the Association following a non-jury trial. In its opinion, the circuit court disagreed with the county court’s conclusion that Respondents, John and Renee Binns, were not entitled to an award of damages based on the Association’s failure to comply with the Binns’s written record request pursuant to section 720.303(5), Florida Statutes (2006), because the Association’s actions were not willful. The circuit court’s order represents a departure from the essential requirements of law. Therefore, we grant the petition, and quash the circuit court’s decision.
District courts apply a two-prong test on second-tier certiorari review: whether the circuit court applied the correct law and whether the circuit court afforded the procedural due process. See Miami-Dade County v. Omnipoint Holdings, Inc., 863 So.2d 195, 199 (Fla.2003). Pursuant to these principles, the district court should grant the second-tier certio-rari “only when there has been a violation of a clearly established principle of law resulting in the miscarriage of justice.” Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So.3d 1086, 1092 (Fla.2010). In determining whether the circuit court has applied the correct law in its review of a county court judgment, a district court must consider whether the circuit court failed to apply the correct law as clearly established. Clearly established law can be derived not only from case law dealing with the same issue of law, but also from “an interpretation or application of a statute, a procedural rule, or a constitutional provision....” Allstate Ins. Co. v. Kaklamanos, 843 So.2d 885, 890 (Fla.2003).
It is axiomatic that an appellate court, in this case the circuit court, is not permitted to reweigh the evidence or substitute its judgment for that of the county court. State v. Kirby, 752 So.2d 36, 37-38 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). “[A] lower court’s ultimate factual determinations during a non-jury trial may not be disturbed on appeal unless shown to be unsupported by competent and substantial evidence.... ” Zupnik Haverland, L.L.C. v. Current Builders of Fla., Inc., 7 So.3d 1132, 1134 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). In the instant case, it is clear that the circuit court reweighed the evidence to reach a conclusion different from the county court. This was improper and violates clearly established law. As a consequence, we quash the circuit court’s opinion.
CERTIORARI GRANTED; CIRCUIT COURT OPINION QUASHED.
MONACO, C.J., and COHEN, J., concur.
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State Farm Fla. Ins. Co. v. Unlimited Restoration Specialists, Inc., 84 So. 3d 390 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012)…87 So. 2d 838, 843 (Fla.2001). A district court should grant second-tier certiorari “only when there has been a violation of a clearly established principle of law resulting in the miscarriage of justice.” Wekiva Springs Reserve Homeowners v. Binns, 61 So. 3d 1190, 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (emphasis [*394] added) (quoting Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So. 3d 1086, 1092 (Fla.2010). We note that our sister court in the third district in United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Santa Fe Medical Center, 21 So. 3d…
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Shamrock-Shamrock, Inc. v. City OF Daytona Beach, 169 So. 3d 1253 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)…cuit court applied the correct law. District courts grant second-tier certiorari relief “when there has been a violation of a clearly established principle of law resulting in the miscarriage of justice.” Wekiva Springs Reserve Homeowners v. Binns, 61 So. 3d 1190, 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (citing Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So. 3d 1086, 1092 (Fla.2010)). “Generally, a reviewing court should defer to the interpretation given a statute or ordinance by the agency responsible for its administra…
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USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. Emergency Physicians OF Central Florida, 200 So. 3d 153 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016)…ond-tier certiorari.” Id. at 868. Second-tier certiorari review should only be exercised when “there has been a violation of a clearly established principle of law resulting in the miscarriage of justice.” Wekiva Springs Reserve Homeowners v. Binns, 61 So. 3d 1190, 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (quoting Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So. 3d 1086, 1092 (Fla.2010)). “The departure from the essential requirements of the law necessary for granting a writ of certiorari is something more than a simple leg…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Keely Kaklamanos, 843 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 2003)
- Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So. 3d 1086 (Fla. 2010)
- Miami-Dade Cnty. v. Omnipoint Holdings, Inc., 863 So. 2d 195 (Fla. 2003)
- Zupnik Haverland, L.L.C. v. Current Builders OF Fla., Inc., 7 So. 3d 1132 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- State v. Kirby, 752 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)