MICHAEL A. SUAREZ, APPELLANT,
v.
INES A. ORTA, APPELLEE
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Suarez appeals a trial court order adopting a hearing officer's report on child support and reimbursable expenses. The appellate court reverses and remands because the trial court improperly rejected Suarez's motion as an untimely exception to the hearing officer's report when, judged by substance rather than form, it was timely filed.
The court held that Florida courts emphasize substance over form and that a pro se motion's true nature is determined by its content, not its label. Suarez's motion was timely filed within the ten-day window required by rule 12.490(f) and should have been treated as an exception to the report.
[1] A court should consider the substance of a motion, rather than its title, when determining its legal effect, especially when filed by a pro se litigant.
[2] A motion filed by a pro se litigant should be interpreted according to its function, prioritizing substance over form.
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“Pleadings by pro se litigants should only be defined by their function.”
Establishes the governing principle that pro se pleadings are judged by their actual purpose, not their label or title.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFollowing a 2010 dissolution of marriage, child support and reimbursable expenses were referred to a hearing officer. The hearing officer submitted fi…
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Appellant Michael' A. Suarez appeals a .final order of the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, entered on-April 2, 2014, adopting a hearing officer’s report and recommendations regarding. child support and reimbursable expenses. For the reasons set' forth below, we reverse and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings. ‘
On May 18, 2010, the trial court entered a final judgment of dissolution of marríáge between Suarez and Ines A.' Orta. All pending matters regarding the couple’s only child, 'including child custody and shared parental responsibility, were resolved, with the exception of child support and reimbursable expenses. The issues of child support and reimbursable expenses were referred to a hearing officer. ' ,
, After holding two hearings, the hearing officer submitted his findings and recommendations to the court on March 17,2014. That same day, Suarez filed a motion to vacate and set aside the findings of the hearing officer’s report, the motion was not styled as exceptions to the hearing officer’s report. Over Suarez’s objection, the trial court," on April 2, 2014, entered a final order adopting the hearing officer’s report, finding that no exceptions to the report were filed.
Pleadings by pro se litigants should only be defined by their function. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972). In particular, Florida, courts emphasize sub stance over form. IndyMac Fed. Bank FSB v. Hagan, 104 So.3d 1232, 1236 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). As a general rule, if the motion is improperly titled, this Court will focus on the substance of the motion. Id. See also Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. of Conn. v. Sealey, 810 So.2d 988, 992 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002) (“We agree that the true nature of a motion must be determined by its content *329and not by the label the moving party has used to describe it.”).
Suarez intended his motion to act as a timely filed exception to the report, pursuant to rule 12.490(f) of the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. The motion, albeit filed on the same day the report and recommendation was entered, was filed within the ten-day window prescribed by rule 12.490(f).
For these reasons, we reverse the trial court’s April 2, 2014 order and remand with instructions for the trial court to treat Suarez’s pro se “Motion to Vacate and Set Aside Findings” as a timely filed exception to the report pursuant to Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.490(f).1
Reversed and remanded for proceedings consistent herewith.
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Arleen Hanna-Mack v. Bank OF Am., N.A., 218 So. 3d 971 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…entitled to have her pleadings construed liberally. Montesinos v. State, 143 So. 3d 1055, 1056 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014). If a pro se motion is improperly titled, the court should focus on the substance of the motion, based on its content. Suarez v. Orta, 176 So. 3d 327, 328 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015). Florida courts emphasize substance over form. Id. Pro se litigants are also afforded leniency on certain procedural technicalities in drafting motions and requesting relief. Kidwell v. Kidwell, 181 So. 3d 1190, 1190 (Fla. 3d…
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Authorities Cited
- Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (U.S. 1972)
- Thiel C. Frierson v. State, 810 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
- Indymac Fed. Bank FSB v. Hagan, 104 So. 3d 1232 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)