Court Opinion

ID: 9821455
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 08:08:07.296782+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:38:51.719284
License: Public Domain

WARNER, J.,
dissenting.
I would reverse the summary declaratory judgment on the authority of Jasser v. Saadeh, 97 So.3d 241 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). I do not think that a petition for determination of incapacity may be voluntarily dismissed by a petitioner once the trial court has appointed an examining committee, unless a majority of the examining committee finds that the alleged incapacitated person is not incapacitated. See § 744.331(1)-(3), Fla. Stat. (2014). This is for the protection of the alleged incapacitated person, as noted in Jasser, 97 So.3d at 247-48. In this case, the court permitted dismissal of the petition to determine incapacity of appellant pursuant to a settlement agreement signed by the appellant, even though he was found by the examining committee to lack the ability to contract. If the appellant was actually *614incompetent, then the settlement agreement would be invalid.