Appealing in West Palm Beach can be difficult because of the final order rule. Essentially only final orders are appealable but there are some exceptions. What do you do when you cannot appeal an order? It may be time to petition for certiorari relief. If you want to know what that means check out this recent case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals, published Thursday Sept. 24, 2015.
The Final Order Rule
- The final order rule tells a West Palm Beach probate attorney what can be appealed.
- If something is a non-final order the appeals court in West Palm Beach may not have jurisdiction to hear your appeal.
- There are exceptions to this rule do you know what they are?
- For one thing you can appeal rulings on personal jurisdiction, class action certification and injunctions instantly.
- What about when the probate court appoints a felon to serve as the personal representative of your West Palm Beach father’s estate?
- This is not a final order.
- That is where “cert. relief” comes in but do you know what that means?
Petition for Certiorari Relief
- Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know there is more than one way to get in front of the appeals court.
- One such way is petitioning for certiorari relief.
- This is for when the trial court does not follow the essential rule of law.
- In other words it is for blatant errors.
- If you feel the judge clearly made a mistake the first step may be a motion for rehearing or reconsideration.
- If that does not work an experienced Palm Beach probate litigator has two choices he can either suck it up and keep litigating or he can ask the appeals court for relief.
Petri v. CCM
- This was an appeal from the Fourth District Court of Appeal dealing with something called punitive (punishment) damages.
- The appellant noted that the trial court had not found several important elements necessary to allow pleading for punitive damages.
- That is where the petition came in because this was not a final order or an exception.
- The trial court was wrong too!
- At least that is what the Fourth DCA said when they issued this order.
Want to learn more about petitioning for certiorari relief?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.