Avesta Communities, LLC, and Peter Rex a/k/a Peter Reynolds v. Paul Fred

Summary

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reversed an order denying a motion to disqualify counsel in a dispute involving Avesta Communities, LLC and its members. The court held that the circuit court abused its discretion by excluding a key witness from the evidentiary hearing without analyzing prejudice under the factors identified in Binger v. King Pest Control. The case was remanded for a new evidentiary hearing, with no ruling on the ultimate merits of disqualification.

Holdings

1. A trial court may enforce witness-list disclosure requirements at an evidentiary hearing, but it must exercise that discretion in light of the Binger factors, particularly whether the objecting party suffered surprise in fact or other prejudice. Because the circuit court made no finding of prejudice and the record showed no substantial prejudice, it abused its discretion by excluding Beltran's testimony.
2. The Binger framework governing exclusion of undisclosed witnesses at trial applies to an evidentiary hearing on a motion to disqualify counsel, with the court's discretion tempered by the nature of the hearing and the importance of the evidence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion by excluding Michael Beltran's live testimony from an evidentiary hearing on a motion to disqualify counsel because Avesta Communities and Rex failed to list him as a witness.
2. Whether the exclusion of Beltran's testimony required reversal of the order denying disqualification of Shutts & Bowen.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded