UNITED AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY v. DOCTOR REHAB CENTER, INC., Etc.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJuly 22, 2020
Docket3D20-0737
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed July 22, 2020.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D20-737
Lower Tribunal Nos. 18-228 AP; 11-1980
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United Automobile Insurance Company,
Petitioner,
vs.
Doctor Rehab Center, Inc.,
a/a/o Juliet Fernandez,
Respondent.
On Petition for Writ of Certiorari from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade
County, Appellate Division, Daryl E. Trawick, Lisa S. Walsh and Thomas J. Rebull,
Judges.
Michael J. Neimand, for petitioner.
Majid Vossoughi, P.A., and Majid Vossoughi, Brad R. Blackwelder and
David J. Mannering, for respondent.
Before EMAS, C.J., and GORDO and LOBREE, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Petitioner, United Automobile Insurance Company, seeks second-tier
certiorari review of an order of the appellate division of the circuit court affirming
the entry of final judgment in favor of Doctor Rehab Center.
โ[W]hen a district court considers a petition for second-tier certiorari review,
the โinquiry is limited to whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process
and whether the circuit court applied the correct law,โ or, as otherwise stated,
departed from the essential requirements of law.โ Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto.
Ins. Co., 62 So. 3d 1086, 1092 (Fla. 2010) (quoting Haines City Cmty. Dev. v.
Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523, 530 (Fla. 1995)). โThe departure from the essential
requirements of the law necessary for granting a writ of certiorari is something more
than a simple legal error.โ Id.; see Allstate Ins. Co. v. Kaklamanos, 843 So. 2d 885,
889 (Fla. 2003). โRather, a district court should exercise its discretion to grant
review only when the lower tribunal has violated a clearly established principle of
law resulting in a miscarriage of justice.โ Id.; see Kaklamanos, 843 So. 2d at 889.
Upon review of the record, we conclude Petitioner is not entitled to the writ
because the circuit court afforded procedural due process and applied the correct
law. See Pearce v. Sandler, 219 So. 3d 961, 965 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (โ[C]ollateral
estoppel may be applied to bar subsequent causes of action even where the second
claim requires proof of different essential facts than those required to be proved in
the initial suit.โ (quoting Larimore v. State, 76 So. 3d 1121, 1123 (Fla. 1st DCA
2
2012))); see also R.D.J. Enters., Inc. v. Mega Bank, 600 So. 2d 1229, 1232 (Fla. 3d
DCA 1992) (โAny right, fact or matter in issue and directly adjudicated, where
necessarily involved in the determination of an action before a competent court in
which a judgment or decree has been rendered upon the merits is conclusively settled
by the judgment therein and cannot again be litigated by the same parties and their
privies, whether the claim, demand, purpose or subject matter of the two suits is the
same or not.โ (quoting In re Constructors of Fla., Inc., 349 F.2d 595, 599 (5th Cir.
1965))).
Petition denied.
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