Daniel Garcia Gelati v. Estate of Edmundo Henriquez Ron

Summary

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Daniel Garcia Gelati’s motion to vacate a final judgment entered against him in proceedings supplementary. The court held that, absent a hearing transcript or proper substitute, it could not review the trial court’s factual findings, and no fundamental error appeared on the face of the order.

Holdings

1. An appellant who challenges factual findings or the evidentiary basis for a trial court's judgment must provide a transcript of the relevant proceedings or a proper substitute; absent such a record, the appellate court cannot review the underlying factual issues and must presume the judgment is correct.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court's order denying Gelati's motion to vacate the final judgment should be reversed when the appellate record contains no transcript or proper substitute for the hearing at which the trial court made findings supporting liability.
2. Whether any fundamental error appears on the face of the order or final judgment requiring reversal despite the inadequate appellate record.

Disposition

affirmed