What Does It Mean to Have a Probate Lawsuit Dismissed for Lack of Prosecution?

What do Florida probate litigators need to know about dismissal for lack of prosecution?Florida probate lawyers who leave cases on the docket without activity could lose out big time. Do you know why? If not you may want to read this recent case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Dismissal for Lack of Prosecution

• Florida probate dockets are full.
• Do you know what that means?
• It means Florida probate judges are busier than ever.
• Some Florida probate judges literally have thousands of cases on their dockets.
• For that reason, the Florida probate judges may be able to dismiss cases that stay dormant for too long.
• How does this happen?
• In Florida probate Court the clerk will issue a notice when a case has no record activity within ten months.
• What does that mean?
• Have you looked at the probate docket to make sure there is something going on in your Florida probate matter?
• What happens after the notice is issued?
• Florida probate lawyers then get a sixty-day grace period to make some activity.
• What constitutes record activity for the case?
• That is what this recent appeal dealt with.

Butler v. Innovative Marketing and Distribution, Inc.

• This was an appeal from an order that dismissed a case for lack of prosecution.
• The plaintiff had filed a notice of hearing during the sixty-day grace period discussed above.
• Was that enough to stave off dismissal for lack of prosecution?
• According to the appeals court it was and the order was reversed.
• Do you agree?
• How can Florida probate lawyers keep these issues from happening?
• Should a case really stay dormant for ten months?
• What do you think?

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.

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