United States Association of CDC, Inc. v. WCWH, LLC

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: January 7, 2026
• Docket: 3D2024-1329
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed January 7, 2026. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D24-1329 Lower Tribunal No. 16-20808-CA-01 ________________

United States Association of CDC, Inc., et al., Appellants,

vs.

WC WH, LLC, et al., Appellees.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, David Craig Miller, Judge.

Reiner & Reiner, P.A., and David P. Reiner II, for appellants.

Perez Mayoral, P.A., and Julie K. Talbot Mayoral and Michael Mayoral, for appellee WC WH, LLC; Paul J. Lane, P.A., and Paul J. Lane (Port St. Lucie) for appellee Paul J. Lane.

Before FERNANDEZ, LOGUE and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Kozel v. Ostendorf, 629 So. 2d 817, 818 (Fla. 1993)

(describing factors to be considered in evaluating whether dismissal with

prejudice is warranted as a sanction for willful disregard of court orders);

Ham v. Dunmire, 891 So. 2d 492, 496 (Fla. 2004) (“While no ‘magic words’

are required, the trial court must make a finding that the conduct upon

which the order is based was equivalent to willfulness or deliberate

disregard.” (quotation omitted)); Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Sombrero

Beach Rd., LLC, 260 So. 3d 424, 428–29 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (noting that

evidentiary hearing is “generally” required in order for trial court to make

express findings of fact concerning all Kozel factors, but that order finding

dismissal appropriate under Kozel will be upheld where trial court

“include[s] in its written order findings of fact with respect to each Kozel

factor, and also individualized findings with regards to the conduct of those

individuals the lower court intends to sanction”).