Belvin v. Belvin
Belvin v. Belvin
Opinion of the Court
ON MOTION TO DISMISS
This case is before the court on a motion to dismiss the appeal filed by amicus curiae who this court permitted to enter the case for the purpose of filing such motion.
On April 11, 1967, the trial court rendered a final decree granting to Robert
In the case of Ropes v. McCabe
“In equity, if the party obtaining a decree dies after the decree and before the other party enters his appeal, the decree must be revived in the court below by making the proper representatives of the deceased parties before an appeal can be taken by such other party. The revi-vor can be had upon his application in order to enable him to prosecute his appeal, as by such revivor he can derive a benefit from further proceedings. * * ”
The appeal in the Ropes case was dismissed for the failure of appellant to revive the decree appealed against the successor or survivor of the deceased appellee before taking the appeal. This principle of law was subsequently approved and followed by the Supreme Court in the case of Alford v. Moore.
Upon the going down of the Supreme Court’s mandate in the Ropes case, an order of revivor was entered by the trial court naming as parties the executors of the estate of the deceased appellee, McCabe and Ropes again sought to appeal the decree against him. That appeal was likewise dismissed by the Supreme Court upon the holding that the appeal was taken after the time prescribed by law for taking the appeal had expired. It was held that the death of the appellee and the subsequent order of revivor did not toll the running of the time for taking the appeal, which time was computed from the date of the decree, and not from the date of the order of revivor.
In the case sub judice it seems clear from the Ropes and Alford cases, supra, that appellant cannot be permitted to maintain this appeal because of her failure to revive the decree appealed against the personal representative of her deceased former husband prior to the filing of her notice of appeal. It is equally clear from the Ropes v. Goldman decision, supra, that if we dismiss this appeal on the technical ground that the decree was not revived before the appeal was taken, appellant will lose her right to appellate review of the decree against her because the sixty-day time limitation for taking the appeal has now expired.
It is our view that the interest of justice will best be served if appellant’s right to a judicial review of the decree appealed is not forfeited because of her failure to fully comply with the technical requirements of
. Fulton v. Poston Bridge & Iron, Inc., (Fla.App. 1960) 122 So.2d 240, 242, 243.
. Ropes v. McCabe, 47 Fla. 289, 36 So. 716, 716.
. Alford v. Moore, (Fla. 1950) 48 So.2d 754.
. Ropes v. Goldman, 50 Fla. 601, 39 So. 16.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.