Specially Released West Palm Beach Appeals Case: Sanctions Reversed for Due Process Reasons

Usually every Wednesday the Fourth District Court of Appeal  releases its newest decisions online. Did you hear about the special release of a case on August 37, 2015 (a Thursday)? A special case was released detailing due process procedures necessary for certain sanctions. Have you been sanctioned by the Court in West Palm Beach without due process? Learn more on how to get that sanction vacated in your West Palm Beach probate dispute.

Sanctions and Due Process

• A sanction is a punishment handed down in West Palm Beach probate court to punish and deter bad behavior.
• The parameters of sanctions are largely guided only be the West Palm Beach probate judge’s creativity.
• One common issue though is the pro-se litigant who over files.
• What does that mean?
• Often times an untrained party will begin filing excessive papers with the court either because they do not know what they are doing or for ill gotten purposes.
• Either way often the parties think it is their right to file as much as they want and they are sadly mistaken.
• It is not uncommon for the probate judges and other judges to bar a pro-se litigant from filing in West Palm Beach courts!
• How can that be legal!?
• There is a caveat, namely that they are able to file if a licensed lawyer is willing to represent them.
• Do you think that is fair?
• Either way you have to be given due process before such a sanction is handed down.
• Do you know what that means?
• For one thing you should be afforded an evidentiary hearing on the matter.
• Want to see what happens when those rights are ignored then check out this  special case filed last Thursday by the Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Testa v. Testa: Pro-Se Sanctions

• This case concerned a dissolution of marriage (divorce) case from Broward County.
• The husband had been barred from further pro-se filing because of excessive filings.
• The party had appeal for relief from the Fourth District because he had no chance to argue that sanction was inappropriate.
• On appeal the decision was reversed because due process requires a right to be heard before a sanction was imposed?
• Are you concerned that a sanction was inappropriate, because you may have a right to appeal the probate judge’s decision.

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.