JOHN F. PULLINS, APPELLANT,
v.
CYNTHIA D. BRITTON AND STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, APPELLEES
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The court reversed a trial court's sanction prohibiting a pro se litigant from filing further pleadings alleging improper service without bar certification, finding the sanction imposed without providing the required notice and opportunity to be heard.
No. While trial courts have authority to sanction excessive filings that prevent the court from considering legitimate claims, such sanctions—particularly those restricting a litigant's right to file future pleadings—require prior notice and opportunity to respond before imposition.
[1] An order addressing unauthorized and successive post-judgment motions is not appealable under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4).
[2] A trial court has the authority to sanction a litigant by prohibiting further filings when an avalanche of filings prevents the court from considering legitimate claims.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“denying a pro se litigant the opportunity to file future petitions is a serious sanction”
Establishes that restrictions on filing rights are serious sanctions requiring heightened procedural protections
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant Pullins filed numerous post-judgment motions in a case against Britton and the State of Florida Department of Revenue. The trial court impos…
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The order on appeal addresses unauthorized and successive post-judgment motions and therefore is not appealable under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4), see Intercoastal Marina Towers, Inc. v. Suburban Bank, 506 So.2d 1177, 1178-79 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). We therefore limit our review to the single paragraph of the order below. That paragraph stated appellant “is hereby prohibited from filing any further pleadings alleging that he was not properly served in this proceeding unless such pleading is certified by a member of the Florida Bar as being made in good faith.”
While a trial court has the authority to impose such a sanction where a litigant’s avalanche of filings has prevented the court from “devot[ing] its finite resources to the consideration of legitimate claims filed by others,” Lussy v. Fourth District Court of Appeal, 828 So.2d 1026, 1027 (Fla.2002), this record does not show whether appellant was provided the requisite notice and opportunity to be heard before imposition of the sanction. See Hendrixson v. Frye, 994 So.2d 1255, 1255 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (citing State v. Spencer, 751 So.2d 47, 48-49 (Fla.1999) (recognizing that “denying a pro se litigant the opportunity to file future petitions is a serious sanction” and holding that “it is important for courts to first provide notice and an opportunity to respond” in order to protect the litigant’s right of access to the courts and provide appellate courts with “an enhanced ability to determine whether [any subsequent] denial of access is an appropriate sanction under the circumstances”)). Con*1137sequently, we remand this case with instructions that the trial court issue an order to show cause why the sanction should not be imposed and allow appellant a reasonable time to respond.
REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.
VAN NORTWICK, LEWIS, and SWANSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- Intercoastal Marina Towers, Inc. v. Suburban Bank, Robert G. Curie, AIA, P.A., 506 So. 2d 1177 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
- Lussy v. Fourth Dist. Court OF Appeal, 828 So. 2d 1026 (Fla. 2002)
- Sheppard v. State, 994 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- Hendrixson v. Frye, 994 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)