MARCIA L. WEISER, APPELLANT,
v.
SANDY WEISER, ROBERT WEISER, AND LAWRENCE TAUBE, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 2014-01-15
No. 4D13-2010
DAMOORGIAN, C.J., MAY and FORST, JJ., concur.
132 So. 3d 309 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2014) Caution
Cited by 26 cases

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Synopsis

In a guardianship action, Marcia Weiser appeals the trial court's denial of her motions for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of loans to the guardianship. The court reversed, holding that the trial court violated her due process right to be heard by summarily denying the motions based solely on expiration of hearing time without considering their merits.


Holding

The trial court erred by denying the motions based solely on lack of time without providing Appellant a meaningful opportunity to be heard on the merits. Denial of due process rights, including the opportunity to present evidence and be heard, constitutes fundamental error that requires reversal regardless of whether the appellant preserved the issue through objection.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court commits fundamental error when it denies a party's due process right to be heard.

[2] A trial court must provide a meaningful opportunity to be heard before rendering a decision on a motion.

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Key Quotes

“The denial of due process rights, including the opportunity to be heard, to testify, and to present evidence, is fundamental error.”

Establishes that denial of opportunity to be heard is fundamental error requiring reversal

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Facts & Procedural History

Marcia Weiser and her brother Sandy Weiser served as co-guardians of their mother. Marcia filed three motions: one for authorization to pay nursing ca…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

In this guardianship action, Appellant, Marcia Weiser, appeals the trial court’s non-final order denying her motion for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and motion for reimbursement of loans/advances to the guardianship. We reverse.

Appellant and her brother, Sandy Weiser, were serving as co-guardians of their mother. During the pendency of the guardianship, Appellant filed the following motions: (1) Motion for Authorization and Direction for Co-Guardians and Co-Trustees to Pay for Nursing Care; (2) Motion for Reimbursement of Attorneys’ Fees; and (3) Motion for Reimbursement of Loans/Advances to Guardianship. Appellant properly noticed the motions for hearing. At the beginning of the hearing, the trial court announced that none of the motions would be continued if the parties ran out of time. Appellant’s attorney decided to first proceed on the motion to pay for nursing care.

Towards the end of the hearing, the trial court allowed brief arguments and reminded the attorneys that the total time allotted for the hearing on all motions was ending. The trial court then denied the first (and only) motion argued. Upon the parties’ inquiry into the court’s determination with respect to the two other motions, the court denied them with prejudice on the grounds that they were not reached by the parties during the time allotted. This appeal follows.

Appellant argues that her due process right to be heard was violated when the trial court summarily denied the remaining motions with prejudice based solely on the grounds that the time for the hearing had expired, without considering the merits of each motion.

We need not determine whether Appellant’s counsel objected to the trial court’s ruling or whether preservation requires a specific objection to respond to such a sua sponte action. Our review is proper if the trial court’s actions constitute fundamental error. See Aills v. Boemi, 29 So.3d 1105, 1108, 1109 (Fla.2010). Funda*311mental error occurs when the error goes “to the heart of a trial and vitiate[s] its fairness.” Grau v. Branham, 761 So.2d 375, 378 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).

The denial of due process rights, including the opportunity to be heard, to testify, and to present evidence, is fundamental error. Slotnick v. Slotnick, 891 So.2d 1086, 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004). In Slotnick, we held that due process is violated when a trial court summarily disposes of the issues without allowing either party to present evidence, even if the issues were informally discussed with the attorneys. Id. (“This summary process, while initially appearing efficient, denied the [appellant] her due process of law.”).

We conclude that the trial court erred because its decision was based solely on the ground that the allotted time for the hearing ran out. By doing so, the trial court failed to provide Appellant with a meaningful opportunity to be heard. See id. Appellee counters that the trial court previously heard Appellant’s arguments and took evidence in connection with both motions before ruling. There is no support in the record for Appellee’s contention. Where a trial court grants a party a hearing on a motion, the court must give each party a meaningful opportunity to be heard before rendering its decision on the motion.

Accordingly, we reverse the order denying Appellant’s motion for attorneys’ fees and motion for reimbursement of loans/advances to the guardianship and remand for further proceedings.

Reversed and Remanded for appropriate proceedings.

DAMOORGIAN, C.J., MAY and FORST, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By (15 total)

  • Zelman v. Zelman, 175 So. 3d 871 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
    …ouse who came later. Through the guardianship proceedings, both sides should have been heard; but the trial judge’s ruling gave Robert’s side a decided advantage. The due process infirmities here resulted in fundamental error. See Weiser v. Weiser, 132 So. 3d 309, 311 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (“The denial of due process rights, including the opportunity to be heard, to testify, and to present evidence, is fundamental error.”). Therefore, the underlying orders are reversed and the case is remanded for new hearings…
  • Chiu v. Wells Fargo Bank, 242 So. 3d 461 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
  • Dep't OF Child. & Families v. T.S., 154 So. 3d 1223 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
    …procedures in a dependency case must comport with due process principles.” E.G-S. v. Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 113 So. 3d 77, 79 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) (citation omitted). When due process is denied, fundamental error occurs. Weiser v. Weiser, 132 So. 3d 309, 311 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (citation omitted). Chapter 39 “provide[s] judicial and other procedures to assure due process through which children, parents, ... and other interested parties are assured fair hearings by a ... respected court ... and the…

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