A. PAUL JENSEN, KEITH D. JENSEN, INDIVIDUALLY, AND CLARE M. JENSEN, KEITH D. JENSEN AND ANDREW PAUL JENSEN, AS CO-EXECUTORS OF THE ESTATE OF A. P. JENSEN, DECEASED, PLAINTIFFS AND COUNTER-DEFENDANTS,
v.
WILLIAM J. HOOFE AND WILLIAM J. HOOFE, III, DEFENDANTS AND COUNTER-PLAINTIFFS
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.
The Florida District Court of Appeal declined to answer a certified question regarding a reassigned judge's jurisdiction to vacate a default judgment. The court found the question inappropriate because the default judgment's propriety had already been decided in a prior appeal, establishing the law of the case.
The court declined to answer the certified question, finding it inappropriate for certification.
“DOES A CIRCUIT JUDGE TO WHOM A CAUSE IS REASSIGNED HAVE JURISDICTION TO HEAR AND RULE UPON A MOTION TO VACATE A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WHEN THE FIRST CIRCUIT JUDGE BEFORE WHOM THE CASE WAS ORIGINALLY PENDING, WHO REFUSED TO VACATE DEFAULT JUDGMENT, HAS BEEN JUDICIALLY PROHIBITED FROM PROCEEDING WITH THE CAUSE BECAUSE OF HIS PREJUDICE?”
This is the certified question presented to the court.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA case involved a motion to vacate a default judgment. The original judge refused to vacate it and was later prohibited from proceeding due to prejudi…
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 Law Of The Case Doctrine cases and more on FLexlaw
Pursuant to Rule 4.6, Florida Appellate Rules, 31 F.S.A., the following question has been certified to this court:
“DOES A CIRCUIT JUDGE TO WHOM A CAUSE IS REASSIGNED HAVE JURISDICTION TO HEAR AND RULE UPON A MOTION TO VACATE A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WHEN THE FIRST CIRCUIT JUDGE BEFORE WHOM THE CASE WAS ORIGINALLY PENDING, WHO REFUSED TO VACATE DEFAULT JUDGMENT, HAS BEEN JUDICIALLY PROHIBITED FROM PROCEEDING WITH THE CAUSE BECAUSE OF HIS PREJUDICE?”
We decline to answer the question as the default judgment referred to therein has been before this court previously, and the propriety of refusing to vacate same has been upheld. See: Jensen v. Hoofe, Fla.App. 1962, 136 So.2d 680. Therefore, this ruling became the law of the case [see: McGregor v. Provident Trust Co. of Philadelphia, 119 Fla. 718, 162 So. 323; King v. Citizens and Southern National Bank of Atlanta, Ga., Fla.App. 1960, 119 So.2d 67; 2 Fla.Jur., Appeals, § SOI], and a determination of this case having already been made the certification is inappropriate. See: Prigger v. Kingery, Fla.App. 1962, 144 So.2d 323; Johnson v. Southeast Title and Insurance Company, Fla.App. 1963, 148 So.2d 67; Ray v. Mercy Hospital, Fla.App.1964, 169 So.2d 502.
It further appears that the prejudice referred to in the question occurred subsequent to the ruling on the motion to vacate the default and arose out of events which occurred subsequent to the mandate in Jensen v. Hoofe, supra. See: State ex rel. Jensen v. Cannon, Fla.App.1964, 163 So.2d 535; State ex rel. Jensen v. Cannon, Fla.App. 1964, 166 So.2d 625.
For the reasons stated, the question was not proper for certification.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- McGregor v. Provident Tr. Co. of Philadelphia, 119 Fla. 718 (Fla. 1935)
- Prigger v. Kingery, 144 So. 2d 323 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- RAY v. Mercy Hosp., 169 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)
- Beulah McCollum King and Jackson L. King v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank OF Atlanta, 119 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)
- State of Fla. ex rel. A. Paul Jensen v. Honorable Pat Cannon, 166 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)
- State of Fla. ex rel. A. Paul Jensen v. Honorable Pat Cannon, 163 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)
- Johnson v. Se. Title & Ins. Co., 148 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963)
- Jensen v. Hoofe, 136 So. 2d 680 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- Morton Joseph Kurstin v. Martin, 136 So. 2d 680 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)