Summary
The Florida First District Court of Appeal held that a dissolution petition remained pending under section 61.08(11), Florida Statutes (2023), because the circuit court had not entered a final judgment by July 1, 2023. The court further held that the former wife had no vested substantive right to permanent alimony before entry of a final judgment. The court reversed the judgment awarding permanent alimony and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether an initial petition for dissolution of marriage remained "pending" under section 61.08(11), Florida Statutes (2023), on July 1, 2023, when the circuit court had not yet entered a final judgment.
- Whether Former Wife had a substantive vested right to permanent alimony because the evidentiary hearing before the general magistrate concluded before July 1, 2023.
Holdings
- An initial petition for dissolution remains "pending" under section 61.08(11) until the circuit court, which has authority to render judgment in the dissolution proceeding, has entered a final judgment. Because no final judgment had been entered by July 1, 2023, the petition was pending and the amended alimony statute applied.
- Former Wife had no substantive vested right to permanent alimony when the statutory amendment became effective because no final judgment awarding alimony had been entered and no alimony payment was due and owing.
Key quotations
“Thus, as a matter of its ordinary meaning and its meaning within the practice of law, “pending” means that the term it modifies (here, a petition) has not been decided.” (4)
“Because the final judgment awarding permanent alimony had yet to be entered on July 1, 2023, and no alimony payment was due and owing, Wife did not have a substantive vested right to alimony payments.” (8)
Factual background
The parties had been married for almost twenty years when Former Wife petitioned for dissolution in 2020 and sought permanent alimony. A general magistrate conducted a hearing from March 6 through May 26, 2023, but had not issued a recommended order by July 1, 2023, the effective date of amendments eliminating permanent alimony for pending and future petitions. The circuit court did not enter a final judgment until March 13, 2024, after resolving all issues, including retroactive child support.
Procedural history
Former Wife filed a petition for dissolution in 2020 and sought permanent alimony. After a hearing before a general magistrate concluded on May 26, 2023, the magistrate submitted a recommended order in August 2023. The circuit court ultimately entered a final judgment on March 13, 2024, awarding permanent alimony, and Former Husband timely appealed.
Remand instructions
Remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion, including application of the amended alimony statute to the pending dissolution petition.