Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

Can a ruling of a general magistrate be appealed in a Florida family law case? A party who disagrees with a general magistrate’s findings and recommended order can file a motion to have the judge review the the findings and recommendations, and this must be done by a certain deadline. However, the fact that a party disagrees with the conclusions reached by the general magistrate is generally not enough to sustain a challenge to those conclusions. This was an issue in the case Figueroa v. Kossiver, 5D21-1963 (Fla. 5th DCA April 8, 2022).

The former wife filed a petition to modify the parties’ parenting plan. After a hearing before a general magistrate, the petition was granted. As is required by law, the general magistrate’s report and recommendations were ratified by a court order signed by the judge because the report and recommendations were not challenged within 10 days. The former husband appealed the order ratifying the report.

The appellate court upheld the court’s order and took the time to explain to the pro se former husband in its opinion the procedural steps to challenging a general magistrate’s recommendations. It stated “Our review of Former Husband’s brief suggests that Former Husband may misunderstand both the trial court’s scope of review when addressing a magistrate’s report and recommendations, as well as the parameters of our review as an appellate court. Addressing the former, we first explain to Former Husband that ‘[o]nce a trial court appoints a magistrate to . . . make findings, it loses the prerogative of substituting its judgment for that of the magistrate.’ Cerase v. Dewhurst, 935 So. 2d 575, 578 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). Accordingly, when a trial court reviews the report and recommendations of the general magistrate, it takes on the role of an appellate court.”

The court continued “Significant to the trial court’s review process here, Former Husband filed no exceptions to the magistrate’s report. See Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.490(f) (‘The parties may file exceptions to the report within 10 days from the time it is served on them.’). Had Former Husband done so, the trial court would have been required to hold a hearing on the exceptions. [. . .] In the context of this appeal, the ramifications to Former Husband of his not filing any exceptions to the magistrate’s report are significant. A trial court, such as in this case, is ‘bound by the general [magistrate’s] factual findings [contained in the report] unless they are not supported by competent substantial evidence.’ Ward v. Dones, 90 So. 3d 826, 828 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012).”

The court concluded in part “Consequently, Former Husband’s ability to obtain appellate relief from our court became limited to whether he could show us that there was an error of law committed. Moreover, with no transcript from the hearing before the magistrate, Former Husband necessarily had to show legal error on the face of the trial court’s order adopting and approving the magistrate’s report or the report itself.”

This case demonstrates why it may be more costly to NOT hire a lawyer than to hire one. Schedule your consultation with a Miami family law attorney to understand the rules and procedures that apply to your case.