FIELDS
v.
FIELDS
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A trial court may set aside a final judgment under Rule 1.540(b)(2) when it was unaware of a party's objections to the proposed judgment, but cannot order mediation and trial re-notice as relief not requested and that effectively sets aside a valid settlement agreement without justification.
[1] A trial court may set aside a final judgment of dissolution of marriage under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(2) when the court was unaware of a party's objectio…
[2] A trial court cannot set aside a valid settlement agreement without justification.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe former wife submitted a proposed final judgment incorporating the parties' settlement agreement in a dissolution of marriage action. The former hu…
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PER CURIAM.
Rachel E. Fields, the former wife, appeals the trial court’s order granting the former husband’s, Donnie B. Fields, motion to set aside the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
The former wife submitted a proposed final judgment to the trial judge that incorporated the parties’ settlement agreement. The former husband objected to parts of the proposed final judgment. Without ruling on the former husband’s objections, the trial court entered the former wife’s proposed final judgment.1 Thereafter, on the former husband’s motion, the trial court set aside the final judgment and ordered the parties to attend mediation and re-notice the case for trial. The former wife challenges that order,
arguing that there was no evidence of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect justifying setting aside the final judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure
1.540(b)(2), and that there was no evidence of fraud or another basis for setting aside the settlement agreement.
We affirm without discussion that portion of the order setting aside the final judgment under rule 1.540(b)(2) as it appears the trial court was unaware that the former husband had objected to the proposed final judgment. However, we reverse the order to the extent that the court also ordered the parties to attend mediation and re-notice the case for trial because it effectively set aside the parties’ valid settlement agreement without any justification and granted relief the former husband did not request in his motion.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.
COHEN, C.J., ORFINGER and EDWARDS, JJ., concur.