HATOUM v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION (2020)

ON CONFESSION OF ERROR

The plaintiff below, Khaled Hatoum, appeals from a final order entered in favor of the defendant below, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”), on Citizens’ motion for summary judgment. Based on Citizens’ proper confession of error, we reverse the final order under review and remand for further proceedings. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c) (stating, in part, that a motion for summary judgment “must state with particularity the grounds upon which it is based and the substantial matters of law to be argued and must specifically identify any affidavits, answers to interrogatories, admissions, depositions, and other materials as would be admissible in evidence (“summary judgment evidence”) on which the movant relies”) (emphasis added); Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(e) (providing that copies of documents referred to in an affidavit in support of a motion for summary judgment must be sworn or certified); Gidwani v. Roberts, 248 So. 3d 203, 208 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (“Because ‘only competent evidence may be considered by the court in ruling upon a motion for summary judgment,’ a document attached to a motion for summary judgment or a document attached to an affidavit that is not otherwise authenticated is not competent evidence.”) (quoting Daeda v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Fla., Inc., 698 So. 2d 617, 618 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)).

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

HENDON, J.