Court Opinion

ID: 9375985
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-01 16:03:00.559233+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:03.459569
License: Public Domain

Third District Court of Appeal
                               State of Florida

                         Opinion filed March 1, 2023.
       Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

                            ________________

                             No. 3D22-0826
                     Lower Tribunal No. 18-24350 CC
                           ________________

                             Danny L. Curry,
                                  Appellant,

                                     vs.

                      Crescent Bank and Trust,
                                  Appellee.

    An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Diana
Gonzalez-Whyte, Judge.

      Renita Henry Law, PLLC, and Renita F. Henry (Ft. Lauderdale), for
appellant.

     Andreu, Palma, Lavin & Solis, PLLC, and Jorge L. Palma, and Carlos
Cruanes, for appellee.

Before LINDSEY, MILLER, and GORDO, JJ.

     PER CURIAM.
      Appellant Danny L. Curry appeals a final judgment entered against him

in favor of Appellee Crescent Bank and Trust following a bench trial at which

he did not appear. The trial court sua sponte and unilaterally set the case

for trial 17 days in advance of the trial date. Curry claims that though he

received notice, he was unavailable on that date and that he was

unsuccessful in obtaining a new trial date from the trial court.1

      Because the trial court noticed the case for trial only 17 days in

advance of the trial date, we reverse and remand for the trial court to vacate

the final judgment and set the case for a new trial in accordance with Florida

Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440(c), which requires that a “[t]rial shall be set not

less than 30 days from the service of the notice for trial.”

      Reversed and remanded with instructions.

1
  Crescent Bank has been precluded from filing an answer brief in this appeal
for failure to timely do so.

                                       2