2700 NORTH OCEAN, LLC, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
OPHIR STERNBERG AND ALLISON GREENFIELD, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 2014-05-14
No. 3D13-2892
Before SUAREZ, LAGOA, and LOGUE, JJ.
139 So. 3d 379 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2014)

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A Florida appellate court upheld a trial court's order allowing judgment creditors to conduct post-judgment discovery from non-party third-party witnesses to aid in execution of a New York judgment. The court held that Rule 1.560 permits discovery in aid of execution from any person, and trial courts have broad discretion to allow such discovery when a sufficient relationship exists between the non-party and the judgment debtor.


Holding

Trial courts have authority under Rule 1.560 to permit discovery in aid of execution from any person, including non-parties, and trial courts have broad discretion to issue such discovery orders when a sufficient relationship exists between the non-party and the judgment debtor. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the discovery.


Headnotes

[1] A judgment creditor may obtain discovery in aid of execution from any person in the manner provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure.

[2] Trial courts possess broad discretion in controlling discovery and in issuing protective orders.

Previewing 2 of 3 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

Key Quotes

“Rule 1.560 permits a judgment creditor to obtain discovery in aid of execution from any person in the manner provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure.”

Establishes the foundational authority for discovery from non-parties in aid of execution under Florida law.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Judgment creditors obtained a recorded judgment originally from New York and sought to enforce it through post-judgment collection efforts. The judgme…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
LOGUE, J.

LOGUE, J.

This appeal arises out of post-judgment collection efforts by judgment creditors on a recorded judgment originally obtained in New York. Appellants, who are third-party witnesses in the underlying proceedings, were served with subpoenas for depositions duces tecum seeking broad categories of documents in aid of execution. Appellants seek review of a trial court order that denied their motions to shield themselves from all or part of the discov*380ery. In their reply brief, Appellants explained: “this appeal does not seek review of a scope-of discovery ruling, but rather it seeks review of the trial court’s ability in the first instance to enter a discovery order directed to a non-party in a post-judgment pursuit of in-aid-of-execution discovery — and where formal proceedings supplementary had yet to be commenced.”

It is clear that “Rule 1.560 permits a judgment creditor to obtain discovery in aid of execution from any person in the manner provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure.” Albert v. Hartford Nat. Bank & Trust Co., 423 So.2d 1027, 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982) (emphasis added); see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.560(a). We note that the parties have already entered into a confidentiality agreement and that “[tjrial courts have broad discretion in controlling discovery and in issuing protective orders.” Katzman v. Rediron Fabrication, Inc., 76 So.3d 1060, 1065 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). Given the evidence presented, the trial judge could find that there was a sufficient relationship between Appellants and the judgment debtor to justify the records requested. It was therefore within the discretion of the trial judge to allow the discovery to go forward.

Affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw