BRIAN KUEI TUNG,
v.
THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, ETC.,

Fla. 3d DCA | 2020-12-23
No. 20-0831
Diaz, J., Fernandez, J., Logue, J., Gordo, J.
Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2020)

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Holding

Sanctions imposed on a litigant for his own failures to comply with court orders are reviewed under the clear error standard and do not invoke the Kozel standard applicable to attorney misconduct.


Headnotes

[1] The Kozel standard for evaluating attorney misconduct does not apply to sanctions imposed on a litigant for the litigant's own failures to comply with court orders; such…

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Key Quotes

“to justify reversal [of a discretionary decision refusing to excuse noncompliance with court rules], it would have to be shown on appeal that the trial court clearly erred in its interpretation of the facts and the use of its judgment and not merely that the court, or another fact-finder, might have made a different factual determination.”

Standard for reviewing trial court's discretionary refusal to excuse noncompliance with court rules

Facts & Procedural History

Brian Kuei Tung appealed a decision from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County regarding sanctions. The trial court imposed sanctions based on Tung'…

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Per_curiam
Per Curiam

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida Opinion filed December 23, 2020. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. ________________ No. 3D20-831 Lower Tribunal No. 04-11813 ________________ Brian Kuei Tung, Appellant, vs. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, etc., Appellee. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Reemberto Diaz, Judge. Law Office of Michael Garcia Petit, P.A, and Michael Garcia Petit, for appellant. Sequor Law, P.A., and Edward H. Davis, Jr., Arnoldo B. Lacayo, Christopher

A. Noel and Cristina Vicens Beard, for appellee.

Before FERNANDEZ, LOGUE and GORDO, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Footnotes
2 Affirmed. See Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Avila-Gonzalez, 164 so. 3d 90, 93 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015) (stating that “Kozel[1] and its progeny are inapplicable” where the trial court’s findings are focused on the actions of a litigant rather than their counsel (citing Levine v. Del Am. Props., Inc., 642 So. 2d 32, 34 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994))); Ledo v. Seavie Res., LLC, 149 So. 3d 707, 710 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014) (“Since Ledo was sanctioned for his own failures to comply with court orders . . . Kozel has no application here.” (citation omitted)); Mercer v. Raine, 443 So. 2d 944, 946 (Fla. 1983)2 (“[T]o justify reversal [of a discretionary decision refusing to excuse noncompliance with court rules], it would have to be shown on appeal that the trial court clearly erred in its interpretation of the facts and the use of its judgment and not merely that the court, or another fact-finder, might have made a different factual determination.”). 1 Kozel v. Ostendorf, 629 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 1993). 2 Although Mercer predates Kozel, this Court has recognized its continued viability, particularly that it stands for the “proposition that [a] litigant’s conduct can support extreme sanctions.” Avila-Gonzalez, 164 So. 3d at 93 n.1.

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