Hernando County v. Leisure Hills, Inc., 93-2946
| Decision Date | 30 December 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-2946,93-2946 |
| Citation | 648 So.2d 257 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly D91 HERNANDO COUNTY, Florida, Appellant, v. LEISURE HILLS, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert Bruce Snow, Brooksville, for appellant.
Gerald A. Figurski of Martin, Figurski & Harrill, New Port Richey, for appellee.
Hernando County appeals the entry of a partial final judgment in favor of Leisure Hills, Inc., a Florida corporation, ("Leisure Hills") which determined that Leisure Hills is entitled to have its plat recorded by and through the Clerk of the Circuit Court. However, the court reserved jurisdiction "to specifically order at some future time the clerk of this court to record the plat." The court also reserved jurisdiction, by bifurcating the trial, to determine whether Leisure Hills was entitled to damages and, if so, the amount of damages. The trial court never entered an order requiring the plat to be recorded. The partial final judgment is not a final appealable order. See Fla.R.App.P. 9.030(b)(1)(A) & 9.110. Further, we hold it is not a non-final order within the contemplation of Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3). Therefore, we dismiss the appeal.
Leisure Hills filed an equitable estoppel action challenging the Hernando County Commission's denial of its request to record its plat. Leisure Hills sought two forms of relief: to require Hernando County to record the plat and to have the court determine if they were entitled to damages and, if so, the amount of damages. The trial court entered a partial final judgment ruling that Leisure Hills is entitled to have its plat recorded but did not order the plat recorded. That does not, however, dispose of a separate and distinct cause of action unrelated to the remaining claim for damages. See Welch v. Resolution Trust Corp., 590 So.2d 1098, 1099 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) ().
Contrary to Hernando County's assertion, the partial final judgment should not be construed as an appealable non-final order which determines the issue of liability in the case pursuant to Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv). Although the trial court's partial final judgment determined that Leisure Hills is entitled to part of the relief it sought, i.e., Leisure Hills is entitled to have its plat recorded, the trial court has not yet determined that Leisure Hills is entitled to all the relief it seeks, specifically, the court has not yet addressed whether Leisure Hills is entitled to an award of damages. "Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv), authorizes the appeal of non-final orders which determine 'the' issue of liability, not 'an' issue of liability." Winkelman v. Toll, 632 So.2d 130, 131 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (...
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