Gayle M. Burns v. Law Offices of Lynwood Arnold, P. A.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledAugust 11, 2021
Docket2D19-2454
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
GAYLE M. BURNS,
Appellant,
v.
LAW OFFICES OF LYNWOOD ARNOLD, P.A.,
Appellee.
No. 2D19-2454
August 11, 2021
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Daryl M.
Manning, Judge.
Drew J. Daddono, Tampa, for Appellant.
Liben M. Amedie, Tampa, and David M. Caldevilla of de la Parte &
Gilbert, P.A., Tampa, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
The circuit court presiding over a lawsuit brought by the Law
Offices of Lynwood Arnold, P.A. against Gayle Burns entered an
order that, among other things, set aside a mediated partial
settlement agreement. Thereafter, the P.A. moved for relief
pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, pointing out that
the P.A. had voluntarily dismissed its suit prior to entry of the order
and for that reason the court had lacked jurisdiction to enter it.
The court granted the P.A.'s motion and vacated the order.
On appeal, Burns maintains that (1) the voluntary dismissal
was ineffective because the P.A. had derived some benefit from the
settlement agreement; (2) the now-vacated order, which directed the
P.A. to return any payments received under the settlement
agreement, effectively constituted a counterclaim that precluded a
voluntary dismissal; and (3) the same order amounted to a
judgment on the pleadings that similarly prevented a voluntary
dismissal. We have considered each of these arguments and find
them to be without merit.
Affirmed.
NORTHCUTT, LaROSE, and STARGEL, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
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