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Watson v. Watson

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Jul 31, 1991
583 So. 2d 410 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1991)
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Summary

holding where face of order setting trial shows that trial court did not mail notice to appellant's correct address, trial court abuses its discretion in denying motion to set aside judgment

Summary of this case from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Michaels
See 7 Summaries

Opinion

No. 91-0072.

July 31, 1991.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Palm Beach County, Michael E. Gersten, J.

James D. Tittle of Beverly Freeman, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Carey L. Ewing of Carey L. Ewing, P.A., Coral Gables, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Barbara Watson appeals from an order that denied her motion to set aside a final judgment of dissolution of marriage on the grounds that she did not receive notice of the final hearing. We reverse.

The trial court entered an order, pursuant to Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.440(c), setting the dates and times for a pretrial hearing and a non-jury trial in the parties' dissolution of marriage suit. Appellant, a pro se respondent, claims that she did not receive her copy of the order. The face of the order shows that the trial court did not mail the notice to appellant's correct address. Appellant did not appear at either the pretrial or final hearing. The trial court mailed a copy of the final judgment to appellant's correct address and upon receipt, appellant promptly filed a motion to set aside the judgment on the grounds of lack of notice.

To rebut this, appellee relies exclusively upon an affidavit that is not properly before this court. See Fla.R.App.P. 9.200(a)(1) and 9.220.

It is well settled that a judgment entered without notice to a party is void. See Shields v. Flinn, 528 So.2d 967 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Falkner v. Amerifirst Federal Savings Loan Ass'n., 489 So.2d 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). As we stated in Taylor v. Bowles, 570 So.2d 1093, 1094 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), "[w]hen a party has no notice of a trial date, the trial court abuses its discretion when it proceeds with a final hearing." See also Li v. Li, 442 So.2d 327 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order denying appellant's motion to set aside the judgment and remand this cause for a new trial.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

DELL, GUNTHER and POLEN, JJ., concur.

Summaries of

Watson v. Watson

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Jul 31, 1991
583 So. 2d 410 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1991)

holding where face of order setting trial shows that trial court did not mail notice to appellant's correct address, trial court abuses its discretion in denying motion to set aside judgment

Summary of this case from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Michaels

holding it is well settled that "[w]hen a party has no notice of a trial date, the trial court abuses its discretion when it proceeds with a final hearing."

Summary of this case from State Dept. of Revenue v. Padgett

reversing order denying motion to set aside a final judgment where the court did not mail the notice of trial to the party's correct address because "a judgment entered without notice to a party is void"

Summary of this case from Spector v. Uber

reversing order denying motion to set aside a final judgment where the court did not mail the notice of trial to the party's correct address, and explaining: “It is well settled that a judgment entered without notice to a party is void.”

Summary of this case from Vercosa v. Fields

reversing the denial of a motion to set aside a final judgment where the face of the order showed that the trial court did not mail notice to appellant's correct address

Summary of this case from Touloute v. City of Fort Lauderdale

In Watson v. Watson, 583 So.2d 410 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), this court reversed the entry of a final judgment following the trial court's failure to send notice of the pretrial hearing and nonjury trial to the correct address.

Summary of this case from Polani v. Payne

In Watson v. Watson, 583 So.2d 410 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), the record reflected that the notice of the trial was sent to an incorrect address.

Summary of this case from Martin v. Martin
Case details for

Watson v. Watson

Case Details

Full title:BARBARA A. WATSON, APPELLANT, v. JAMES D. WATSON, APPELLEE

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Jul 31, 1991

Citations

583 So. 2d 410 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1991)

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