Summary
The Third District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed a final judgment in favor of Ulysses Leid. The court held that Taylor Londres failed to demonstrate reversible error because the appellate record contained no trial transcript, and she had not moved for rehearing or sought to proceed under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.200(b)(5).
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the appellate court could reverse the final judgment based on Londres's claim that the trial court violated due process by refusing to allow her to present argument before ruling when the record contained no trial transcript or substitute statement of the proceedings.
- Whether Londres preserved the claimed failure to make required findings of fact by moving for rehearing under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530.
Holdings
- The judgment must be affirmed because the undeveloped appellate record, which contained no transcript of the one-hour bench trial and no substitute statement of the proceedings, did not demonstrate reversible error.
- A challenge to the failure to make required findings of fact must be raised in a motion for rehearing to be preserved for appeal, and Londres did not file such a motion.
Key quotations
“Without a record of the trial proceedings, the appellate court can not properly resolve the underlying factual issues so as to conclude that the trial court's judgment is not supported by the evidence or by an alternative theory. Without knowing the factual context, neither can an appellate court reasonably conclude that the trial judge so misconceived the law as to require reversal.” (1152)
Factual background
The circuit court conducted a one-hour bench trial and entered a final judgment in favor of Ulysses Leid. Taylor Londres asserted on appeal that the trial court violated her due process rights by refusing to permit her to present argument before ruling. No transcript of the trial proceedings was included in the appellate record.
Procedural history
Londres appealed the circuit court's final judgment, arguing that the trial court violated her due process rights by refusing to allow her to present argument before ruling. The appellate court affirmed because the record contained no trial transcript, Londres had not moved for rehearing, and she had not sought to proceed under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.200(b)(5).