Florida Practice Exam Missed Questions Flashcards
Eighteen months after a judgment requiring the payment of child support, a man learned through DNA testing that the child in question was not biologically his and that the child’s mother had intentionally lied about the matter in court. He immediately filed a motion for relief with the circuit court; the court determined that the fraud perpetrated by the mother constituted intrinsic fraud. The man is
Answer Choices:
entitled to relief from the judgment due to the fraud.
entitled to relief from the judgment based on the newly discovered evidence.
not entitled to relief from the judgment because his petition was not timely filed.
not entitled to relief from the judgment because the time for appealing the judgment had expired.
not entitled to relief from the judgment because his petition was not timely filed.
A party seeking relief from a judgment based on intrinsic fraud rather than a fraud upon the court must file a motion for such relief within one year of the judgment.
On April 1, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant for negligence. He then sent a copy of the complaint to Defendant, by certified mail with a return-receipt request, along with a request that Defendant waive service of a summons. On April 4, Defendant received the copy of the complaint and request for waiver of service. On April 15, Defendant returned a signed waiver of service to Plaintiff. Defendant must respond to the complaint no later than
Answer Choices:
60 days after April 1st.
60 days after April 4th.
60 days after April 15th.
20 days after April 4th.
60 days after April 4th.
A defendant who timely returns a requested waiver of process before being served is not required to respond to the complaint until 60 days after the date the defendant receives the request for waiver of service. Here, Defendant timely returned the requested waiver and therefore has 60 days after the date he received the request for waiver, April 4, to respond to the complaint.
In an eminent domain action brought by the City of St. Petersburg, the city attorney timely filed a motion to recuse the judge. The motion alleged that the judge’s husband was the first cousin of the owner of the property subject to the action, but did not otherwise allege that this relationship would prejudice the judge’s actions. The attorney for the property owner refused to join the city attorney in this motion. The judge
Answer Choices:
is required to recuse herself because of her relationship to the property owner.
is not required to recuse herself because the attorney for the property owner did not join in the recusal motion.
is not required to recuse herself because the judge is not related to property owner by blood.
is not required to recuse herself because the motion did not allege that the relationship would prejudice the judge’s actions.
is required to recuse herself because of her relationship to the property owner.
Answer choice A is correct. A judge is required to recuse herself when she is related to a person who is interested in the result of the action by consanguinity or affinity within the third degree. A first cousin of the judge’s spouse is such a person.
Plaintiff sued Defendant to recover $20,000 damages due to Defendant’s negligence. Seven days after service of her answer upon Plaintiff, Defendant served a written demand for a jury trial upon Plaintiff. Will this case be tried before a jury?
Answer Choices:
No, because only a plaintiff can demand a jury trial in a civil action.
No, unless Plaintiff agrees to the trial of the case by a jury.
Yes, because Defendant timely filed her jury trial demand.
Yes, because the amount of damages sought exceeds $15,000.
Yes, because Defendant timely filed her jury trial demand.
Any party may demand a jury trial by serving a written jury trial demand upon the other parties not later than 10 days after service of the last pleading directed to an issue triable of right by a jury, which is often the defendant’s answer.
Plaintiff in a civil action for products liability filed a good faith demand for judgment for $1 million, but Defendant never accepted the demand. At trial, the jury in the case awarded Plaintiff compensatory damages of $1.5 million. Plaintiff’s reasonable costs and attorney’s fees from the date of filing the demand were $500,000. The total amount, including reasonable costs and attorney’s fees, Plaintiff is entitled to recover is
Answer Choices:
$500,000.
$1 million.
$1.5 million.
$2 million.
$2 million.
If a plaintiff files a demand for judgment that is not accepted by the defendant within 30 days and the plaintiff then recovers a judgment in an amount at least 25 percent greater than the offer, then he is entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred from the date of the filing of the demand. Here, the demand for judgment in the amount of $1 million was never accepted. The damages award of $1.5 million was more than 25 percent greater than the offer. Accordingly, plaintiff is entitled to recover the damages award, plus the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees from the date of filing the demand. Thus, plaintiff is entitled to $2 million
Plaintiff filed a civil action immediately prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. After the expiration of the statute of limitations, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the action on the basis of forum non conveniens. The Florida court
Answer Choices:
must deny the motion.
may deny the motion, but this motion will be subject to review on an abuse of discretion standard.
may grant the motion, only if the relevant factors of private interest favor the alternative forum.
must grant the motion, if Defendant stipulates that he will not pursue a statute of limitations defense in the alternative forum.
may deny the motion, but this motion will be subject to review on an abuse of discretion standard.
Subject to various considerations, a Florida court may deny (or grant) a based motion to dismiss based on forum non conveniens. The court’s judgment is subject to review on an abuse of discretion standard.
Plaintiff sued Defendant for intentional interference with business relations. Defendant’s counsel interviewed Defendant’s former employee, who described seeing events that supported Plaintiff’s claim. He had never before disclosed these facts for fear of retaliation. The former employee died the day after the interview. Defendant’s counsel has no plans to introduce the transcript of the interview at trial. The transcript of the interview
Answer Choices:
is absolutely protected from discovery.
must be turned over to Plaintiff, but only if the Plaintiff can show the transcript is needed to prepare for the case and the inability, without undue hardship, to obtain the substantial equivalent of the material by other means.
must be turned over to Plaintiff, if Plaintiff makes a request for it.
must be automatically turned over to Plaintiff due to former employee’s death.
must be turned over to Plaintiff, but only if the Plaintiff can show the transcript is needed to prepare for the case and the inability, without undue hardship, to obtain the substantial equivalent of the material by other means.
Work product is any material prepared in anticipation of litigation or trial. The work product of a party’s representative, which includes the party’s attorney, is not subject to discovery,
except upon a showing by the party seeking discovery of
(i) a need for the material in the preparation of the case and
(ii) the inability without undue hardship to obtain the substantial equivalent of the material by other means.
Answer choice A is incorrect because the transcript can be discoverable despite constituting work product upon the showing noted in answer choice B.
After receiving Plaintiff’s complaint, Defendant timely filed a motion to dismiss. The court rejected this motion. Assuming the last day is neither a weekend day nor a holiday, within how many days must Defendant file an answer?
Answer Choices:
10 days, not counting intervening weekends and holidays
10 days, counting intervening weekends and holidays
20 days, not counting intervening weekends and
holidays
20 days, counting intervening weekends and holidays
10 days, counting intervening weekends and holidays
A defendant must file an answer within 10 days of the court’s ruling of his motion to dismiss. Since this time period is at least seven days long, intervening weekend days and holidays are counted.
Plaintiff sought $200,000 in damages in a tort action against Defendant. Two months prior to trial, Defendant, in a writing served on the Plaintiff, offered to settle the matter for $100,000. Plaintiff did not respond to the offer. The jury awarded Plaintiff $70,000. Defendant is entitled to offset against the amount of the award
Answer Choices:
all reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Defendant with respect to the litigation.
50 percent of the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Defendant with respect to the litigation.
30 percent of the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Defendant with respect to the litigation.
the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Defendant with respect to the litigation after making the settlement offer.
the reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred by Defendant with respect to the litigation after making the settlement offer.
When a defendant makes a written settlement offer that is served on the plaintiff at least 45 days prior to trial, and the plaintiff rejects or fails to respond the offer, the defendant is entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred after making the offer when the amount awarded to the plaintiff is at least 25 percent less than the amount of the offer. Since the amount of the jury award to Plaintiff was 30 percent less than the amount of the offer (($100,000 - $70,000)/$100,000), Defendant can recover its reasonable costs and attorney’s fees incurred after making the offer.
Luke and Billie own adjacent properties in Glades County. Over the objection of Billie, who resides on her property in Glades County, Luke, who resides in Palm Beach County, constructed a fence along what he contended was the boundary of their properties. The value of the land in question is $5,000. Billie can file an ejectment action
Answer Choices:
only in the circuit court for the 20th judicial circuit, which includes Glades County.
only in the county court for Glades County.
in either the circuit court for the 20th judicial circuit, which includes Glades County, or in the county court for Glades County.
in either the county court for Glades County or the county court for Palm Beach County.
only in the circuit court for the 20th judicial circuit, which includes Glades County.
An ejectment action may properly be brought only in the circuit court, regardless of the amount in controversy. For an action involving real property, venue is appropriate only in the county in which the land is located. Consequently, Billie must bring her ejectment action against Luke in the circuit court for the 20th judicial circuit, which includes Glades County.
