Father’s Motion To Appeal Final Judgment Of Paternity Dismissed On The Grounds That He Failed To File The Appeal In A Timely Manner

In the case of Diasolwa v. Burneikis, the father filed an appeal from an Amended Final Judgment of Paternity. The mother, in this case, filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on the basis that the father did not file his appeal in time. At play in this litigation is whether or not an Amended Final Judgment order constituted the correct document on which to file the appeal. Previously, another Judgment had been entered. However, the mother moved to correct an error with the date in the original final judgment of appeal.

According to the father’s attorney, he was never served with the Final Judgment and could therefore not have timely filed an appeal on behalf of his client. Because the appeal was deemed untimely, the appeals court saw fit to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that they lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter.

Background of the case 

The original dispute involved issues relating to the father’s paternity, last name, and child support payments that were supposed to be rendered to the mother. On October 22, 2019, the trial court rendered a Final Judgment. The father failed to appeal the judgment within 30 days. Nor did the father timely file a post-judgment motion that would toll the rendition.

On November 25, 2019, the mother requested a correction of a typographical error in the Final Judgment. In this case, the singing date was incorrectly written, reading 2020 instead of 2019. In addition, on the same date, counsel for the father sent an email to the judicial assistant claiming that he never received a copy of the final judgment. However, his attorney did not file a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.540(b)(4) which is the established procedure when a judgment is entered without notice. However, the court can consider tolling the final date to enter an appeal until if the judgment in question is void.

In this case, the father could have appealed the decision had he filed the motion in a timely manner. The trial court never took up the issue of whether or not the father received notice of the Final Judgment.

The other issue here is whether or not the father could file an appeal on the Amended Final Judgment which was entered into on November 25. The Amended Final Judgment made one correction to a date but was otherwise the same as the original. It was from the Amended Final Judgment that the father attempted to file his appeal.

The court determined that because the Amended Final Judgment only fixed a typo, the operative judgment in place was still the judgment entered in October. As a result, the court determined that the Amended Final Judgment could not be the basis for the father’s appeal. His appeal was dismissed.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Family Law Attorney Today 

Faulkner Law Group, PLLC represents the interests of Tampa residents in various actions related to family law. This includes establishing paternity, child support, and other matters related to children. Call our Tampa family lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your case right away.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/florida/third-district-court-of-appeal/2022/3d21-0899.html