Beasley v. Girten
| Decision Date | 31 October 1952 |
| Citation | 61 So.2d 179 |
| Parties | BEASLEY v. GIRTEN. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
William J. Pruitt, Miami, for appellant.
L. J. Cushman and Cushman, Gay & Woodard, Miami, for appellee.
The pleadings in this cause were tendered, the issues were made, and the trial court called a pre-trial conference for the purpose of (1) simplifying the issues, (2) considering the necessity or desirability of amending the pleadings, (3) summarizing the evidence, determining the number of expert witnesses to be used, and discussing other matters to effect a prompt disposition of the case. Counsel were notified of the date and place for pre-trial conference but neither the plaintiff nor his counsel appeared nor gave any reason for their absence. Failing in this, the court entered an order dismissing the case 'with prejudice' at the cost of the plaintiff. This appeal is from that order.
The point for determination is whether or not the trial court committed error in dismissing the cause for failure of plaintiff or his counsel to attend the pre-trial conference.
Common Law Rule 16, 30 F.S.A., and Equity Rule 77, 31 F.S.A. provide that the 'court may of its own motion or shall on motion of either party to the cause direct and require the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for conference to consider and determine' the simplification of the issues, and for other purposes named in the rule. In the case at bar the trial judge called the conference, and the purposes for which he called it were well within those named in the rule.
The pre-trial conference rule was extracted from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., and is considered by State and Federal Courts to be a great time saver and one of the best means yet devised to expedite the disposition of litigation. When neither party moves for a pre-trial conference, the holding of such a conference is within the discretion of the trial court. If either party moves for such a conference, it is mandatory. In either event it is the duty of counsel to attend or seek a continuance for cause. He should not treat the call with indifference, or ignore it as he did in this case. A motion to continue for cause should have the same consideration as any other motion. The pre-trial conference was designed as an aid to orderly procedure, to expedite and to reduce the burden and expense of litigation. Counsel are expected to conform with this rule as they would any other rule, or...
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Kozel v. Ostendorf
...a well-established tradition of discouraging sanctions that simply cause a party to sue its lawyer for malpractice. See Beasley v. Girten, 61 So.2d 179 (Fla.1952); Ramos v. Sanchez, 375 So.2d 51 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Anthony v. Schmitt, 557 So.2d 656 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990), approved, Del Duca v. ......
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Anthony v. Schmitt
...to require the trial attorney to atone for his own sins rather than visit them upon the attorney's unfortunate client. Beasley v. Girten, 61 So.2d 179 (Fla.1952). In this case, for example, the only real party in interest is a teenage orphan who has waited eleven years for justice. Dismissi......
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Ham v. Dunmire
...of circumstances where it may be appropriate to dismiss a litigant's action based upon an attorney's neglect. See Beasley v. Girten, 61 So.2d 179, 181 (Fla.1952); see also Johnson v. Landmark First Nat'l Bank, 415 So.2d 161 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). In Beasley, this Court recognized that the int......