E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.

District Court of Appeal of Florida

E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.

24 So. 3d 585, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14593, 2009 WL 3110062

District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided September 30, 2009·No. 4D09-2871·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

We deny DuPont’s petition for writ of prohibition which sought review of its motion to disqualify the trial court judge, the fifth such motion DuPont has filed in this case. An attorney’s legal campaign contributions within the statutorily permitted amount are not a legally sufficient ground for disqualification. MacKenzie v. Super Kids Bargain Store, Inc., 565 So.2d 1332 (Fla.1990). None of the other allegations raised in the motion set forth an objectively reasonable basis for DuPont to fear the judge is biased.

The contributions from attorneys in the firms representing the plaintiffs in this case were all within the statutorily permitted amounts, and the cumulative total of $4650 which the attorneys in the firms contributed to the judge’s reelection campaign does not approach the $3 million contribution at issue in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 2252, 173 L.Ed.2d 1208 (2009). Contrary to DuPont’s argument, the circumstances of this case are not equivalent, or any *586 where close, to those presented in Caper-ton.

POLEN, HAZOURI and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

PER CURIAM.

We deny DuPont’s petition for writ of prohibition which sought review of its motion to disqualify the trial court judge, the fifth such motion DuPont has filed in this case. An attorney’s legal campaign contributions within the statutorily permitted amount are not a legally sufficient ground for disqualification. MacKenzie v. Super Kids Bargain Store, Inc., 565 So.2d 1332 (Fla.1990). None of the other allegations raised in the motion set forth an objectively reasonable basis for DuPont to fear the judge is biased.

The contributions from attorneys in the firms representing the plaintiffs in this case were all within the statutorily permitted amounts, and the cumulative total of $4650 which the attorneys in the firms contributed to the judge’s reelection campaign does not approach the $3 million contribution at issue in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 2252, 173 L.Ed.2d 1208 (2009). Contrary to DuPont’s argument, the circumstances of this case are not equivalent, or any *586 where close, to those presented in Caper-ton.

POLEN, HAZOURI and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.

E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A., 24 So. 3d 585, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14593, 2009 WL 3110062 (Fla. Ct. App. 2009).

Pincite

24 So. 3d 585 (E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Opinion

Related