8 results for 'judge:"Wallis"'.
J. Wallis finds the trial court improperly entered two nonfinal orders in part requiring monthly alimony and child support payments totaling $1,748 from the ex-husband to the ex-wife. The trial court violated the ex-husband's due process rights by ordering him to pay arrears when the ex-wife did not seek that relief, and the orders generally were not supported by substantial and competent evidence. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 22-2800, Categories: Family Law
J. Wallis finds the trial court improperly compelled arbitration in the children's lawsuit against the investment advisor and others claiming in part that they interfered with the children's inheritance after their mother died in 2021. The children did not sue for breach of any of the relevant contracts containing arbitration provisions, and equitable estoppel cannot compel arbitration because the children have not directly benefited from any of the contracts containing arbitration provisions. The trial court's order is overturned and the case is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 22-2859, Categories: Arbitration, Tort, Negligence
J. Wallis finds the Florida trial court made an error by ceding jurisdiction regarding custody matters for the former husband and former wife's child from Florida to Illinois. A finding by the Illinois court that Illinois was now the child's "home state" since he had moved there with the former wife does not create a reason under Florida statutes for the Florida court to cede its "exclusive, continuing jurisdiction" over the child's custody matters under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The trial court's denial of the former husband's motion for a re-hearing is reversed, and the case is remanded for the trial court to vacate its decision and reconsider jurisdiction under procedures laid out in the Act. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2632, Categories: Family Law, Jurisdiction
J. Wallis finds the trial court erred while handling certain expert testimony at defendant's trial on charges of second-degree attempted murder and discharging a firearm in public from a vehicle. The state committed a discovery violation by not disclosing before trial that its lead investigator was going to provide expert testimony about the victim's injuries and bullets used in the shooting, and the trial court should have ordered a hearing to determine if the discovery violation prejudiced defendant. Defendant's judgment and sentence are overturned and the case is remanded for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 21-2957, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Discovery
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J. Wallis finds the lower court improperly awarded a wife a share of her husband’s pre-age 62 Federal Employee Retirement System Disability Retirement benefits. While both parties agreed that portions of their retirement benefits should be equitably distributed, the wife also sought distribution of the husband’s disability benefits. Because the husband’s benefits are non-marital disability benefits, they are not subject to marital distribution. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 5D23-103, Categories: Family Law, Pensions
[Consolidated] J. Wallis finds largely in favor of the daughter in a dispute over the dissolution of the mother and father's marriage, the distribution of assets from a dissolved family business, and the conversion of the dissolved business's assets to benefit a new business started by the son. The trial court's denial of the father's motion to dismiss the daughter's shareholder action and its liability and damages determinations are upheld without discussion, but the case is remanded for the trial court to handle a narrow matter in the marriage dissolution, specifically so it can enter an exact value on a worksheet meant to equitably divide the shareholder derivative damages. Affirmed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: 22-0803, Categories: Family Law, Fiduciary Duty, Conversion
J. Wallis finds the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over an eviction dispute between the tenant and the property owner, as the tenant asserts. The trial court, a county court, lacked jurisdiction because the tenant claimed an equitable interest in the relevant property due to a $65,000 deposit she made to purchase and improve it, making the lawsuit an ejectment action that only circuit courts can handle. The trial court's judgment in favor of the property owner is overturned, and the case is remanded so it can be transferred to circuit court. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wallis, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 21-2570, Categories: Property, Housing, Jurisdiction