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Florida Probate Litigators Can Use Involuntary Dismissal to Avoid Jury Trial

Uncategorized Dec 30, 2015
post about Florida Probate Litigators Can Use Involuntary Dismissal to Avoid Jury Trial

Are you involved in Florida probate litigation? Any Florida trust lawyer can  tell you that a probate trial has many ups and downs, the worst of which can be the dreaded “involuntary dismissal.” What can you learn from estate lawyers in Florida about an involuntary dismissal? Check out this recent appeal from a will contest to learn more.

Involuntary Dismissal

  • What is an involuntary dismissal?
  • Florida probate litigation lawyers need to prove their cases in court, which is what you are paying them for.
  • Although some cases settle out of court the final reckoning is usually a probate trial.
  • Probate attorneys Florida have to make sure that they establish a prima facie case before they close their case and let the other side put on a defense.
  • What does that mean?
  • Florida probate attorneys have to be able to show at least a small piece of evidence for each essential element of a cause of action.
  • Failure to do so could mean the other estate attorneys in Florida motion the probate court for something called an involuntary dismissal.
  • That means the end of the line for the estate attorney in Florida and your probate lawsuit.
  • What can you do?
  • One thing you can do is appeal.
  • That being said do not expect the appeals court to go easy on you, they may find new ways to shut down your case even if the reason the trial court gave was wrong.
  • Check out this case to learn more.

Luciani v. Nealon

  • This was an appeal from a probate lawsuit, specifically a will contest.
  • Florida estate litigators know that appeals can be costly and complicated; it is better to get it right the first time.
  • Here the court had granted the other side’s motion for an involuntary dismissal because the plaintiff could not prove the grounds for their will contest.
  • The problem is the court made an error in what standard it applied.
  • So victory was in the bag on appeal right?
  • Wrong!
  • The appeals court found other issues with the case and still let it be dismissed.
  • Probate litigation lawyers know that appeals can be tricky and that you have to worry about a lot of possible outcomes, like this one.

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case of Luciani v. Nealon by clicking here.

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