Court Opinion

ID: 4259293
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2018-03-29 13:09:53.187771+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:24:05.968004
License: Public Domain

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                 STATE OF FLORIDA
                  _____________________________

                          No. 1D17-5299
                  _____________________________

PREMIER MOTORCAR GALLERY,
INC.,

    Petitioner,

    v.

ONAZINA WASHINGTON,

    Respondent.
                  _____________________________

Petition for Writ of Prohibition–Original Jurisdiction.

                         March 29, 2018

PER CURIAM.

     Premier Motorcar Gallery, Inc., filed a petition for
prohibition, asking us to prohibit the circuit court from exercising
jurisdiction in the underlying matter. Later, while this original
action remained pending, Premier Motorcar removed the
underlying action to federal court, thus depriving the trial court
of jurisdiction to proceed. See Maseda v. Honda Motor Co., 861
F.2d 1248, 1254–55 (11th Cir.1988) (“[A]fter removal, the
jurisdiction of the state court absolutely ceases and the state
court has a duty not to proceed any further in the case.”); see also
28 U.S.C. § 1446(d) (“[T]he State court shall proceed no further
unless and until the case is remanded.”).
     Premier Motorcar now asks us to stay or abate this
proceeding, waiting and starting again “only in the event the
action is later remanded” back to state court. But because
Premier Motorcar acknowledges that its removal to federal court
has already achieved what it asked us to do—deprive the circuit
court of jurisdiction to proceed—we dismiss the petition as moot.
If the case later returns to state court, and if the trial court later
acts in excess of its jurisdiction, Premier Motorcar can later file
another prohibition petition. See Scott v. Francati, 214 So. 3d
742, 749 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) (prohibition is appropriate when
circuit court attempts to act without jurisdiction).

    DISMISSED.

WOLF, OSTERHAUS, and WINSOR, JJ., concur.

                  _____________________________

    Not final until disposition of any timely and
    authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
    9.331.
               _____________________________

David P. Healy of Dudley, Sellers, Healy & Heath, PL,
Tallahassee, for Petitioner.

David H. Abrams, Tallahassee, for Respondent.

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