Opinion ID: 2485217
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Third District Applied the Wrong Standard of Review

Text: Because this is a pure question of law, this Court's standard of review is de novo. See Bosem v. Musa Holdings, Inc., 46 So.3d 42, 44 (Fla.2010) (citing So. Baptist Hosp. of Fla., Inc. v. Welker, 908 So.2d 317, 319 (Fla.2005), and D'Angelo v. Fitzmaurice, 863 So.2d 311, 314 (Fla.2003)); see, e.g., Fayad v. Clarendon Nat'l Ins. Co., 899 So.2d 1082, 1085 (Fla.2005) (applying the de novo standard of review in an assessment of whether Florida's Third District Court of Appeal reached a correct conclusion of law with regard to the application of an exclusion in an all-risk insurance policy). This Court has established that an appellate court reviews a trial court's grant of class certification for an abuse of discretion. See Engle v. Liggett Grp., Inc., 945 So.2d 1246, 1267 (Fla.2006) (citing Bouchard Transp. Co. v. Updegraff, 807 So.2d 768, 771 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)). That is because the determination that a case meets the requirements of a class action is a factual finding, which falls within a trial court's discretion. Updegraff, 807 So.2d at 771. The discretion of a trial court is to be applied within the structure of rule 1.220. The certification of a class follows the parameters of the class action rule and the theory upon which the rule is based when the court is faced with a multiplicity of individual actions. The class action rule has a real and meaningful position in the administration of justice to address the ever-increasing caseload burden placed upon our trial courts. In Olen Properties and Glen Cove, the Fourth District, in reviewing a trial court's certification of a class, employed the abuse of discretion standard of review. See Olen Props., 981 So.2d at 518 (A trial court's certification of a class action is reviewed using an abuse of discretion standard.); Glen Cove, 847 So.2d at 1112 (Based upon this analysis, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in denying appellants' motion for class certification.). The other four district courts of appeal, including the Third District, have also applied this standard to a trial court's order on class certification. See, e.g., Cole v. Echevarria, McCalla, Raymer, Barrett & Frappier, 965 So.2d 1228, 1231 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007); Sonic Auto., Inc. v. Galura, 961 So.2d 961, 964 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Diagnostics of S. Fla., Inc., 921 So.2d 23, 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Seminole Cnty. v. Tivoli Orlando Assocs., 920 So.2d 818, 821 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). In this matter, the Third District erred by not applying the abuse of discretion standard of review to the trial court's grant of class certification. See Sosa, 15 So.3d at 9-11. Rather, the Third District conducted a de novo review, as it gave no deference to the trial court's factual findings and made its own independent determination as to whether Sosa satisfied the requirements of rule 1.220. See id. More specifically, in lieu of pointing to the lack of competent, substantial evidence supporting the trial court's order, or stating why the trial court's conclusions of law were erroneous, the Third District made its own findings that Sosa and the putative class members did not satisfy the commonality and predominance elements of rule 1.220, and that Sosa failed to meet section 627.835's knowingly requirement. Then, the Third District held that the trial court erred because it did not find the same. This constituted a de novo review and error. Conversely, the Fourth District in Olen Properties and Glen Cove by applying the abuse of discretion standard of review to a trial court order on class certificationexemplified the proper methodology to be employed by an appellate court when it reviews a trial court's order on class certification.