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Maestrales v. Flaherty
Citations: 183 So. 3d 1036; 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 5196; 2015 WL 1609917Docket: No. 5D14-3291
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; April 10, 2015; Florida; State Appellate Court
Gus Maestrales appeals an amended temporary injunction ordering him to return a dog to his stepfather, James Leo Flaherty. The appellate court affirms the injunction, finds the appeal frivolous, and grants sanctions against Maestrales. In the underlying case, Flaherty sought damages and injunctive relief, claiming Maestrales took a car and dog belonging to him. A temporary injunction was issued after a hearing, which Maestrales did not attend as he was pro se at that time. After hiring attorney James R. Evans, Maestrales filed a motion to quash the injunction, claiming he was not notified of the hearing. The motion requested a rehearing to present evidence about the dog’s ownership but did not address the car. Before the rehearing, Maestrales returned the car to Flaherty, but Evans failed to attend the rehearing, delegating representation to substitute counsel. During the rehearing, both parties and their witnesses testified, leading to the amended injunction requiring Maestrales to return the dog. Maestrales now claims a violation of due process due to Evans' absence, although Evans provided no details for his unavailability and no transcript of the hearing exists. The appellate court ruled that the trial court’s decision is presumed correct and that Maestrales failed to demonstrate any error, thus affirming the order. The appeal is deemed without merit, and sanctions are awarded to Flaherty, with a remand to assess reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by Flaherty for the appeal, to be paid by both Maestrales and his counsel.