Florida Supreme Court Oral Argument Press Summaries

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

John J. Ryan, IV v. LeonorLobo deGonzalez

SC03-933

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here

9:00

At issue in this case isa dispute over the possession of shares of the Chiriqui Sugar Mills Corporation.The trial court held that the suit over the shares was untimely and thatequitable estoppel did not revive the Ryans' claims because they did nothave knowledge of the underlying claim during the statute of limitationsperiod. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that a partymust have knowledge of a cause of action during the limitations periodin order to effectively assert equitable estoppel against a statute oflimitations bar. The Ryans seek review on the grounds of express and directconflict with a Florida Supreme Court case. 

Indian River County

John Steven Huggins v.State of Florida

SC02-2364

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

Huggins was convictedofthe first-degree murder of Carla Larson, committed in Orlando on June10,1997, as well as kidnaping, carjacking, and petit theft. The juryrecommended and the court imposed the sentence of death. This isHuggin'sdirect appeal.

Orange County

Albert Goble v. MarkE. Frohman

SC03-1245

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:40

Section 768.76, FloridaStatutes, instructs courts to reduce compensatory damages awards by theamounts available to plaintiffs from statutorily-defined collateral sources.The certified question before the Court is whether discounts off medicalbills, given by medical providers as required under an HMO contract, constitute"collateral sources" to reduce an award of damages under section 768.76. 

Hillsborough County

Florida Municipal InsuranceTrust v. Village of Golf

SC03-1598

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 11:20

The insured, the municipalityof the Village of Golf, settled a claim with a farmer based upon allegeddamages to a crop from a chlorine leak at a City facility. The City thenbrought this suit against its insurer, Florida Municipal Insurance Trust,claiming that it was prejudiced by the insurer's inadequate pre-suit investigation,which should estop the insurer from denying coverage. The trial court agreedand awarded damages to the insured based upon estoppel, which was affirmedby the Fourth District. This Court granted jurisdiction to review the FourthDistrict's certified question of great public importance. 

Palm Beach County

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Ronna Martino v. Wal-MartStores, Inc.

SC03-334| SC03-956

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00

These combined cases posethe question of the whether people can sue someone, who allegedly has negligentlyinjured, them for failing to preserve evidence that might prove the negligence.

Palm Beach County

Polk County

Kenneth Louis Dessaurev. State of Florida

SC02-286

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

Dessaure was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the February 1999 first-degree murder of CindyRiedweg. This is his direct appeal.

Pinellas County

Darryl Walker v. Stateof Florida

SC03-1555

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:40

Darryl Walker was sentencedto 5 years in prison for a burglary. The First District Court of Appealcertified the following question to this Court: Is the Florida standardjury instruction on "possession of property recently stolen" an impermissiblecomment on the evidence? 

Duval County

Indemnity Insurance Co.v. American Aviation, Inc.

SC03-1601

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 11:20

Indemnity Insurance andProfile Aviation Services, Inc. filed suit against American Aviation allegingthat the latter negligently serviced and repaired an aircraft purchasedby Profile. The United States District Court for the Middle District ofFlorida dismissed Indemnity's claims, finding them barred by Florida law.Indemnity appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which certifiedto this Court five questions concerning the application of Florida lawto the facts of the case. 

Central Florida

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Roderick Michael Ormev. State of Florida

SC02-2625| SC03-1375

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00

Orme was convicted of firstdegree murder and sentenced to death in 1993. His conviction and sentencewere upheld on direct appeal. In these proceedings, he challenges the validityof both the conviction and sentence.

Bay County 

State of Florida v. JamesChristopher White

SC02-2277| SC03-166

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

These consolidated casesdisagree on the issue of whether, in a civil commitment proceeding pursuantto the Jimmy Ryce Act, the jury must be instructed that the respondenthas "serious difficulty in controlling behavior." The First District heldthat the jury must be given the instruction, while the Fourth Districtheld to the contrary. 

Bay County

Hillsborough County

Paul Glen Everett v.State of Florida

SC03-73

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:30

Appellant was convictedof first-degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with a battery, and sexualbattery involving serious physical force, which occurred on November 2,2001. The jury unanimously recommended and the court imposed the sentenceof death. This is Everett's direct appeal.

Bay County

James A. Zingale v. RobertO. Powell

SC03-1270

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 11:30

In 1992, voters adopteda constitutional amendment known as "Save Our Homes" that limits increasesin tax assessments on homestead property. The amendment went into effectin 1994. The Powells, who have owned and lived in their home in BrowardCounty since 1990, first applied for and obtained a homestead exemptionin 2001. The Fourth District held that despite the Powells' failure toseek a homestead exemption before tax year 2001, they were entitled tothe "Save Our Homes" cap's limit on an increase in the assessment for taxyear 2000. That decision is being challenged by the state Department ofRevenue and numerous county property appraisers.

Broward County

Statewide impact

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Anthony Floyd Wainwrightv. State of Florida

SC02-1342| SC02-2021

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00

Wainwright was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the April 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart afterabducting her in a Lake City grocery store parking lot. His sentence wasaffirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Hamilton County

Lake City connection

Daniel Jon Peterka v.State of Florida

SC02-1410| SC03-482

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

Daniel Peterka was convictedof the 1989 murder of John Russell. He was sentenced to death, and hisconviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. Peterka now challengesthe validity of both his conviction and sentence.

Okaloosa County

Errol Austin Rollmanv. State of Florida

SC03-1871

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:30

Errol Austin Rollman wassentenced to ten years of imprisonment and ten years of probation, andwas required to pay restitution for his role in an armed robbery. Priorto sentencing, Rollman engaged in plea bargaining with the trial judge,who stated that Rollman's sentence would be capped at ten years of imprisonment.The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the sentence, but certifiedas a question of great public importance to this Court, whether a judgemay engage in plea bargaining, state the maximum sentence on the record,and later render a more severe sentence, without any apparent justificationfrom the record. 

Okaloosa County

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Court Holiday

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Nathaniel Charles Jonesv. State of Florida

SC03-1363

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00 a.m.

Jones sought this Court'sreview of a district court decision overturning the trial court's decisionto exclude from trial a police officer's identification of Jones from avideo taped lineup. This case asks the Florida Supreme Court to decidewhether the right to counsel guaranteed by Florida's Constitution requiresa defendant's attorney to be present when the prosecution shows a videotaped lineup to a witness for identification purposes. 

Miami-Dade County