MODANI HOLDINGS LLC v. ATHEA (2018)

Petitioner Modani Holdings, LLC (“Modani”) petitions this Court to issue a writ of mandamus compelling the trial court to hold a hearing on its Emergency Motion to Vacate Ex–Parte Order and Dissolve the Injunction, Release Restraints against Respondent [below] Modani Holdings LLC and its Affiliates, and to Increase the Bond Amount as a Matter of Law and for Sanctions against Bickman Law, PLLC (the “Emergency Motion”) filed on May 22, 2018. Modani also petitions this Court to issue a writ of certiorari reversing the trial court's Order Freezing Husband's Steven Athea Personal and Business Accounts (the “Order”) rendered on May 18, 2018.¹

In the Order, the trial court granted the Wife's [Respondent Monica Athea's] Verified Ex Parte Emergency Motion to Enjoin Disposing of Assets and Freezing of Husband's [Respondent Steven Athea's] Personal and Business Bank Accounts (the “Ex Parte Motion to Enjoin”).² In response thereto, Modani filed the Emergency Motion and sent a letter dated May 22, 2018 to the trial court requesting an immediate hearing on the Emergency Motion. The next day, on May 23, 2018, Modani filed a request to set a special hearing on the Emergency Motion.

Rule 1.610(d) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs motions to dissolve temporary injunctions, provides:

A party against whom a temporary injunction has been granted may move to dissolve or modify it at any time. If a party moves to dissolve or modify, the motion shall be heard within 5 days after the movant applies for a hearing on the motion.

Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.610(d) (emphasis added). Here, the Emergency Motion was filed on May 22, 2018. To be in compliance with Rule 1.610, the deadline for the trial court to hold a hearing on the Emergency Motion is May 30, 2018. See Hicks v. Chamberlin, 710 So. 2d 993 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (directing the trial court to set a hearing date on the petitioner's motion to dissolve a temporary ex parte injunction within five days pursuant to Rule 1.610(d) ). We withhold formal issuance of the writ, confident that the trial judge will hold a hearing forthwith and in compliance with Rule 1.610(d). The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied as moot.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Order was dated May 17, 2018, but rendered the following day on May 18, 2018.

2.   According to the certificate of service, the Ex Parte Motion to Enjoin was hand delivered to the trial court's chambers on May 15, 2018. The Ex Parte Motion to Enjoin provided in the record before our Court is neither signed, notarized, nor dated.

ROTHENBERG, C.J., and EMAS, and LINDSEY, JJ.