John Willie Robbins, Jr. v. the Bank of New York Mellon, Etc.

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: October 30, 2024
• Docket: 3D2023-1281
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed October 30, 2024. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-1281 Lower Tribunal No. 16-32967

John Willie Robbins Jr., Appellant,

vs.

The Bank of New York Mellon, etc., Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Peter R. Lopez, Judge.

Robert Flavell, P.A., and Robert Flavell (Celebration), for appellant.

McGlinchey Stafford, William L. Grimsley, and Kimberly Held Israel (Jacksonville), for appellee.

Before LOGUE, C.J., and SCALES and MILLER, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See, e.g., Loftis v. Loftis, 208 So. 3d 824, 826 (Fla. 5th DCA

2017) (“The trial court has broad discretion to allow a party to reopen its case

throughout all stages of the proceedings.”); Amador v. Amador, 796 So. 2d

1212, 1213 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001) (“As a general rule, the trial court has broad

discretion to allow a party to reopen its case and present additional evidence,

whether it does so after a party rests, after the close of all evidence, or even

after having directed a verdict for one party.”) (quoting Silber v. Cn’R Indus.

of Jacksonville, Inc., 526 So. 2d 974, 978 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)) (internal

brackets omitted); Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.530(a) (“On a motion for rehearing of

matters heard without a jury, including summary judgments, the court may

open the judgment if one has been entered, take additional testimony, and

enter a new judgment.”).