JOHN RICHARDS, APPELLANT,
v.
ASHLEY DALE CROWDER, APPELLEE
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John Richards appealed a trial court's summary denial of his motion for relief from judgment in a stalking injunction case. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that Richards's motion and supporting affidavits stated a colorable entitlement to relief requiring an evidentiary hearing before the trial court could deny the motion.
The trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion without an evidentiary hearing. Richards's motion and supporting affidavits stated a colorable entitlement to relief because Florida courts recognize that cognitive difficulties and comprehension problems can constitute excusable neglect warranting relief from judgment.
[1] A trial court abuses its discretion when it denies a motion for relief from judgment without conducting an evidentiary hearing if the motion and supporting affidavits sta…
[2] Difficulties with reading and comprehension, as well as psychological conditions, can form the basis of excusable neglect warranting relief from judgment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The trial court abused its discretion in denying Richards's motion for relief from judgment without first conducting an evidentiary hearing.”
Establishes the core holding that summary denial of a 1.540 motion without a hearing was abuse of discretion
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAshley Crowder filed a petition for injunction for protection against stalking against her former boyfriend, John Richards. The trial court entered a …
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John Richards appeals a trial court order denying his motion for relief from judgment filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540. This court has jurisdiction. Fla. R.App. P. 9.130(a)(5). We reverse and remand for the reasons below.
This cause arose from a petition for injunction for protection against stalking that appellee Ashley Crowder filed against Richards, her former boyfriend. The trial court entered a temporary injunction and set for evidentiary hearing the matter of whether a final injunction should be imposed. Richards did not appear at the hearing but Crowder did. The trial court heard her testimony and entered a final judgment of injunction, which Richards did not appeal.
Instead, Richards retained counsel and filed a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(1). He alleged he had low-to-average intelligence with an overall IQ of 88, and his verbal and comprehension deficits rendered him unable to understand the meaning of the temporary injunction and notice of evidentiary hearing served on him. He claimed he did not attend the evidentiary hearing in part due to fear of losing his job, as he could not find a substitute on short notice. He said, he was attempting to reconcile with Crowder but was avoiding personal contact with her. Richards said the final judgment of injunction resulted in permanent, damaging consequences to his life, job and relationships.
Attached to the motion were supporting affidavits from Richards and his mother. His mother stated that Richards was born at a low birth weight, had difficulty with reading and verbal comprehension, a low vocabulary, and a deficient memory. Crowder filed no response to this motion for relief from judgment. The trial court summarily denied the motion without an evidentiary hearing.
A trial court order on a motion to vacate judgment is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Schuman v. Int’l. Consumer Corp., 50 So.3d 75, 76 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Shiver v. Wharton, 9 So.3d 687, 689 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). The trial court abused its discretion in denying Richards’s motion for relief from judgment without first conducting an evidentiary hearing. The motion and supporting affidavits stated a claim of “colorable entitlement to relief’ in order to require an evidentiary hearing. Schleger v. Stebelsky, 957 So.2d 71, 73 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (quoting Smith v. Smith, 903 So.2d 1044, 1045 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)). Florida courts have recognized that illness or psychological conditions, as well as difficulties with reading and comprehending, can form the basis of a finding of excusable neglect warranting relief from judgment. See, e.g., Paul v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 68 So.3d 979, 985 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011); Franklin v. Franklin, 573 So.2d 401, 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Rosenblatt v, Rosenblatt, 528 So.2d 74, 75-76 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988).
We therefore reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
WARNER, FORST and KLINGENSMITH, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Schenavar v. Schenavar, 350 So. 3d 439 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)…DCA 2009) (holding that a facially sufficient motion to vacate alleging “(1) excusable neglect; (2) a meritorious defense; and (3) due diligence” “cannot be summarily denied without affording the movant an evidentiary hearing”); Richards v. Crowder, 191 So. 3d 524, 525 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (reversing and remanding for an evidentiary hearing as “Florida courts have recognized that illness or psychological conditions . . . can form the basis of a finding of excusable neglect warranting relief from judgment”).…
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Redmond v. First Guar. Mortg. Corp., 268 So. 3d 918 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)…. To be entitled to a hearing on a rule 1.540(b) motion, the allegations in the motion and accompanying affidavits must show a "colorable entitlement to relief." See Smith v. Smith , 903 So. 2d 1044, 1045 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) ; Richards v. Crowder , 191 So. 3d 524, 525 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). Here, Redmond's motion for relief from the final judgment is predicated upon his argument that the clerk's default previously entered against him should be vacated. In order to vacate the default, Redmond had the burden of…
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Nguyen v. Williams (Fla. 2d DCA 2026)…ion of excusable neglect. See, e.g., Castillo v. Valbonesi, 418 So. 3d 736, 738 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025) (explaining that excusable neglect "includes where an illness interferes with an attorney's or party's ability to act in court"); Richards v. Crowder, 191 So. 3d 524, 525 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (recognizing that illness "can form the basis of a finding of excusable neglect"). A motion for relief from judgment alleging excusable neglect is legally insufficient if it is not supported by sworn evidence. See, e.g., Uni…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Shiver v. Wharton, 9 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Schuman v. Int'l Consumer Corp., 50 So. 3d 75 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)
- Paul v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 68 So. 3d 979 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)
- Franklin v. Lizzie Franklin, 573 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
- Smith v. Smith, 903 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)
- Rosenblatt v. Rosenblatt, 528 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)
- Schleger v. Stebelsky, 957 So. 2d 71 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)