Florida District Courts of Appeal, 2003

S.K. v. Department of Children & Families

Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided March 12, 2003 · Farmer, Hazouri, Stevenson

839 So. 2d 876; 2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 3140 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

2 later published cases cite this decision.

T.P.., the Mother and M.P., the Father v. Department of Children & Families (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2025)
Strulowitz v. CADLE COMPANY. II, INC. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

We find that the entry of a default and the trial court’s denial of the father’s motion to vacate the default judgment terminating his parental rights was an abuse of discretion. Rule 8.270 provides that “[o]n motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or the party’s legal representative from an order, judgment, or proceeding for the following reasons: Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.270(1). We find that the father demonstrated at least one of these reasons.

REVERSED.

FARMER, STEVENSON and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.