Florida District Courts of Appeal, 2009

E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.

E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided September 30, 2009 · Polen, Hazouri, Ciklin
24 So. 3d 585; 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14593; 2009 WL 3110062 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. v. Aquamar S.A.

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

We deny DuPont’s petition for writ of prohibition which sought review of its motion to disqualify the trial court judge, the fifth such motion DuPont has filed in this case. An attorney’s legal campaign contributions within the statutorily permitted amount are not a legally sufficient ground for disqualification. MacKenzie v. Super Kids Bargain Store, Inc., 565 So.2d 1332 (Fla. 1990). None of the other allegations raised in the motion set forth an objectively reasonable basis for DuPont to fear the judge is biased.

The contributions from attorneys in the firms representing the plaintiffs in this case were all within the statutorily permitted amounts, and the cumulative total of $4650 which the attorneys in the firms contributed to the judge’s reelection campaign does not approach the $3 million contribution at issue in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 2252, 173 L.Ed.2d 1208 (2009). Contrary to DuPont’s argument, the circumstances of this case are not equivalent, or any *586 where close, to those presented in Caper-ton.

POLEN, HAZOURI and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.

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