Nacius v. One West Bank, FSB

Summary

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the denial of a motion to vacate a writ of possession for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The court held that a motion to vacate under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) cannot be directed at a nonfinal writ of possession and that the denial was not among the appealable nonfinal orders under Rule 9.130(a)(3).

Holdings

1. The appellate court is not required to accept a confession of error.
2. An appellate court must assess its own jurisdiction even when the parties do not raise the jurisdictional issue.
3. A motion to vacate under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) cannot be directed toward a non-final order such as a writ of possession.
4. The appellate court lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of the motion to vacate because the order did not fall within the categories of appealable non-final orders in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the appellate court was required to accept the appellee's confession of error.
2. Whether the appellate court had jurisdiction to review the denial of a motion to vacate a writ of possession.
3. Whether a motion to vacate under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b) may be directed at a non-final writ of possession.
4. Whether the denial of that motion constituted an appealable non-final order under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3).

Disposition

dismissed