At Barthelette Law, the primary focus of our legal work is on trial-court level litigation. On occasion, though, we handle appeals and appellate work. I am proud to report of a recent appellate court victory! Here’s a copy of the per curiam affirmed opinion:
To put the victory into context, let me give a little background.
First: State Court Lawsuit
My friend, Harley Storrings, and I represented the plaintiff in the state court lawsuit. In short, the case concerned a breach of a contract to provide cleaning services.
Second: Bench Trial Right Before Covid-19
The trial judged conducted a bench trial on Friday, March 13, 2020 – right before Covid-19 hit us all hard.
Interestingly, near the end of the bench trial, the trial judge told us that the chief judge was set to announce the closure of the courts. At the time, I thought the closures would last a few weeks, if that long. Little did I know!
At the end of the bench trial, the trial judge ruled in our favor.
Shortly thereafter, the defendant filed an appeal.
Third: Appellate Court Victory
After the defendant filed its initial appellate brief, I worked on the responsive brief and filed a motion for appellate attorney’s fees. The defendant’s last brief was filed in the beginning of October 2020.
In my experience, it takes some time for Florida’s appellate courts to issue their opinions – usually around 7 to 10 months.
However, we received the above opinion on December 2, 2020, or about 2 months after the defendant filed its final brief. Indeed, the appellate process moved quickly!
Interestingly, and as you will see above, the Third District Court of Appeals issued a per curiam affirmed opinion. What is per curiam affirmed? It is an opinion issued in the name of the court, rather than specific judges.
We are grateful for the win!
Barthelette Law, Your Boca Raton Personal Injury Law Firm
At Barthelette Law, we handle almost all aspects of personal injury litigation. If you or a loved one was involved in an accident, do not hesitate to call us today!