ARTURO OVAL
v.
AURA FELIPA LEAL
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.
A trial court's equitable distribution determination in a dissolution of marriage proceeding is reviewed for abuse of discretion and will be affirmed where substantial competent evidence supports the trial court's findings and the court exercised independent judgment.
[1] A trial court's equitable distribution determination in a dissolution of marriage proceeding is reviewed for abuse of discretion, and the appellate court cannot substitut…
[2] In a dissolution of marriage proceeding, what is critical for a reviewing court is that a final judgment reflect the trial judge's independent decision on the issues, not…
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“Generally, we review a trial court's equitable distribution determination for an abuse of discretion. . . . 'Where "there is substantial competent evidence to support the trial court's findings, the appellate court cannot" substitute its judgment for that of the trial court.'”
Standard of review for equitable distribution in family law cases
Arturo Oval appealed a circuit court judgment in a family law matter involving equitable distribution of marital property. The trial court, Judge Vero…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Attorney'S Fees In Dissolution Proceedings cases and more on FLexlaw
Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida
Opinion filed June 18, 2026. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
No. 3D24-1500 Lower Tribunal No. 20-12564-FC-04
Arturo Oval, Appellant,
vs.
Aura Felipa Leal, Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Veronica Diaz, Judge.
Harvey D. Rogers, P.A., and Harvey D. Rogers, for appellant.
Claudio R. Cedrez, LLC and Claudio R. Cedrez Pellegrino, for appellee.
Before LINDSEY, MILLER and LOBREE, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See Apesteguy v. Keglevich, 319 So. 3d 150, 153 (Fla. 3d
DCA 2021) (“Generally, we review a trial court's equitable distribution determination for an abuse of discretion. . . . ‘Where “there is substantial competent evidence to support the trial court's findings, the appellate court cannot" substitute its judgment for that of the trial court." (quoting Van Maerssen v. Gerdts, 295 So. 3d 819, 823 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020))); Tercier v. Univ. of Miami, Inc., 383 So. 3d 847, 854 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) (“[W]hat is critical for a reviewing court is that a final judgment reflect the trial judge's independent decision on the issues of a case, not that the judge used words drafted by one of the parties to express that decision.” (quoting Flint v. Fortson, 744 So. 2d 1217, 1220 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999))); Cabrera v. Cabrera, 987 So. 2d 753, 755 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (“The trial court's active participation in the proceedings supports our conclusion that there is no appearance that the trial court did not exercise its independent judgment when entering the final judgment in the instant case.”); Vindel v. Stewart, 388 So. 3d 228, 237 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024) (cautioning that "[a] party in a divorce proceeding is not 'entitled' to [prejudgment] interest in every case, because the trial court must have broad discretion to determine the most equitable distribution of marital property under the particular circumstances" (quoting Mathers v. Brown, 21 So. 3d 834, 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009))), review granted, No. SC2024-0428, 2024 WL 4686838 (Fla. Nov. 6, 2024); lannuzzelli v. Lovett, 981 So. 2d 557,
559 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (“The standard of review for an award or denial of attorney's fees in a Florida dissolution of marriage proceeding is abuse of discretion.").
3
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Flint v. Fortson, 744 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Cabrera v. Cabrera, 987 So. 2d 753 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Otto Hans van Maerssen v. Gerdts, 295 So. 3d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020)
- Massiel Y. Sadeh v. Drusso Calenzani, 319 So. 3d 150 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)
- Iannuzzelli v. Lovett, 981 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Tercier v. Univ. of Miami, Inc., 383 So. 3d 847 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)
- Mishelle Addys Perdomo Vindel v. Stewart, 388 So. 3d 228 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024)