Articles Posted in Due Process

Missing a scheduled court hearing in a family law case can have serious consequences, including the entry of a default judgment that significantly affects a person’s legal rights. While courts expect litigants to carefully comply with procedural rules and hearing schedules, Florida law also recognizes that genuine mistakes sometimes occur. When a party can demonstrate that a missed hearing resulted from excusable neglect rather than intentional disregard for the judicial process, the law provides a mechanism for seeking relief. A recent Florida decision clarifies that when a party presents a legally sufficient claim supported by sworn evidence, the trial court generally must hold an evidentiary hearing before denying relief from a default judgment. If you are facing a default judgment or another significant procedural issue in a family law matter, an experienced Miami family law attorney can help protect your rights and advocate for a fair outcome.

Facts and Procedural History

Allegedly, the appellant sought relief from a default final judgment that had been entered after she failed to appear for a scheduled hearing. After the default judgment was entered, she filed a motion under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b), asserting in a sworn statement that she had inadvertently miscalendared the hearing date and therefore failed to appear. She filed the motion only nine days after discovering that the hearing had already taken place.

It is alleged that, at the time of the calendaring error, the appellant was representing herself rather than being represented by legal counsel. Despite her sworn explanation describing the mistake, the trial court denied her motion without conducting an evidentiary hearing to evaluate the circumstances surrounding her failure to appear. 

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In many circumstances, the success or defeat of your Florida parental responsibility, timesharing and/or child support case will come down to factual issues. These issues can be things like parental fitness, a parent’s earning potential or the child’s educational needs. Other times, though, issues of law and/or legal procedure are at the center of a case. Whether your case turns on issues of fact or issues of law, your odds of success can be enhanced by having an experienced South Florida family law on your side presenting your case.

D.P.’s case was one heavily influenced by issues of law. In 2010, L.R. gave birth to a son. L.R. was not married at the time, but D.P. “was recognized by all concerned” as the child’s natural father. As D.P.’s relationship with the mother declined, he filed for court recognition of his paternity in 2017. The case was set to resolve issues of parental responsibility, timesharing and child support.

The father was a “no show” at a court-ordered mediation and was sanctioned for that failure to appear. At the final hearing, the trial judge tried to find a mutually agreeable solution but was not successful. The mother’s attorney made what the law calls a “proffer” of the “substance of her case.” A proffer means that one party presents to the judge evidence that she would use if allowed at trial. It is not evidence actually admitted into the record, but simply one party’s representation of what she would have put on the record if allowed. The appeals court indicated that, after the lawyer’s proffer, the “father then addressed the court regarding his timesharing and employment history.”