JOHN H. PIERSON AND GYNELLE PIERSON, PETITIONERS,
v.
G. KENDALL SHARP, RESPONDENT
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Petitioners sought certiorari review of a circuit court order dismissing their appeal from Small Claims Court. The appellate court upheld the dismissal because the record lacked a certified transcript of trial testimony, which was necessary to decide the appellants' evidentiary arguments on appeal.
The court upheld the dismissal because appellants have the duty to bring before the appellate court an adequate record to support their appeal. When appellate points necessarily require review of evidence before the trial court and such evidence is absent from the record, appellate review is precluded.
[1] An appellate court's review is limited to determining whether the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction or deviated from the essential requirements of law.
[2] Appellants bear the responsibility of providing an appellate record sufficient to support their appeal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is the duty of the appellant to bring before the appellate court a record adequate to support his appeal”
Establishes the fundamental requirement that appellants must provide sufficient record materials for appellate review
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioners appealed from a Small Claims Court decision to the Circuit Court of Indian River County. The circuit court ordered the parties to meet wit…
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OWEN, Chief Judge.
By petition for writ of certiorari we are asked to review an order of the Circuit Court of Indian River County whereby, in its appellate capacity, it dismissed an appeal from the Small Claims Court of Indian River County.
The scope of our review is limited to a determination from the face of the record whether the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction or otherwise deviated from the essential requirements of law. Dresner v. City of Tallahassee, Fla.1964, 164 So. 2d 208.
The order of dismissal was predicated upon a recitation (1) that all of the appellants’ assignments of error raised questions which dealt with evidentiary matters testified to at the trial in the Small Claims Court, (2) that the record was void of any certified copy of reporter’s transcribed notes of the trial proceedings or any part of the trial testimony, (3) that the Circuit Court having theretofore instructed the parties to meet with the judge of the Small Claims Court in an attempt to stipulate to the evidence, it was apparent from the stenographically reported and transcribed proceedings of such meeting or conference that the parties and the court could not sufficiently stipulate to the testimony, and (4) thus the record on appeal was inadequate for a determination of the appellate issues presented.
It is the duty of the appellant to bring before the appellate court a record adequate to support his appeal, Best v. Barnette, Fla.App.1961, 130 So. 2d 90. If the points on appeal are such that they necessarily cannot be decided without a review of the evidence before the trial court, the absence from the record of such evidence precludes appellate review. Such is the case here. Although we are not unsympathetic to petitioner’s argument that the Small Claims Court is “the peoples’ court” wherein court reporters are not customarily utilized, this fact can not justify an appellate court in ignoring or discarding its proper appellate role.
When it became apparent that an essential part of the record was not and could not be brought to the court, the appeal was necessarily doomed to failure. While under these circumstances the court would have been justified in merely affirming the judgment, cf. Blacharski v. Watts, Fla.App.1972, 268 So. 2d 465, a dismissal of the appeal was equally justified and accomplished the same end result. There was no departure from the essential requirements of law.
Certiorari denied.
MAGER and DOWNEY, JJ., concur.
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Cited By (18 total)
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Fernandez v. Arocha, 308 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)…he action taken by the trial court was correct. It is the appellant’s burden to present an appellate record which demonstrates otherwise. E. g., Curtiss-Wright [*46] Corporation v. King, Fla.App.1968, 207 So. 2d 294; Pierson v. Sharp, Fla.App. 1973, 283 So. 2d 880. The record in this case makes it impossible for this court to conclude that the trial court erred. Accordingly, the judgment appealed is affirmed. Affirmed.…
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Mills v. Heenan, 382 So. 2d 1317 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…turbed upon appeal in the absence of a record demonstrating errors of law. White v. White, 306 So. 2d 608 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). It is the duty of appellant to bring before the appellate court a record adequate to support his appeal. Pierson v. Sharp, 283 So. 2d 880 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). Both parties appeared before the trial court. We have nothing before us on which to base a determination that the trial court acted erroneously. While in most instances seventeen hours notice of suit is grossly inadequate to en…
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Dade Cnty. Bd. OF Pub. Instruction & the Cont'l Ins. Co. v. Foster, 307 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)…ssue may not be reviewed when the evidence is not presented in the record on appeal. See: Phillips v. Blum, supra; Stuco Corp. v. Gates, Fla.App.1967, 145 So. 2d 527; Belflower v. Risher, Fla.App.1969, 227 So. 2d 702; Pierson v. Sharp, Fla.App.1973, 283 So. 2d 880. There was some contention at oral argument that this introductory paragraph to [*503] the final judgment was inaccurate. If this was so, the time to correct it was prior to the case being submitted on the merits. Florida Appellate Rules specificall…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Dresner v. City OF Tallahassee, 164 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 1964)
- Best v. Barnette, 130 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Blacharski v. Watts, 268 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)