Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

When a party appeals a Florida family court ruling, is the family court allowed to rule on pending issues? It depends on what was appealed and if there are any orders from the appellate court directing the lower court on what to rule on. This was an issue in the case Webking v. Webking, 1D21-3496 (Fla. 1st DCA June 17, 2022).

In this divorce case, the petitioner previously appealed an issue in the case. As a result of that appeal, the divorce proceedings were stayed by the appellate court. Despite this instruction from the appellate court, the trial court ruled on a motion just three days after the appellate court ordered the stay. The order prevented either party from obtaining mental health treatment for their child without the other party’s consent. The mother petitioned for a writ of prohibition.

The appellate court granted the mother’s writ, holding “In granting the motion, the circuit court acted beyond what was permitted by the stay imposed by this court and therefore acted without jurisdiction. See Stokes v. Jones, 317 So. 3d 262, 263 (Fla. 1st DCA 2021) (granting petition for writ of prohibition and quashing discovery order where lower tribunal lacked jurisdiction because appellate court issued a show cause order in a separate prohibition case that stayed proceedings below).

Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to the facts of your case.