Categories: Florida Court Opinions

TECHNO INDUS. CORP. v. COOPER INDUS., 410 So.2d 584 (Fla.App. 3 Dist. 1982)

TECHNO INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION, GIL LOZANO AND LEONOR ARANGO, APPELLANTS, v. COOPER INDUSTRIES, INC., D/B/A COOPER AIRMOTIVE, APPELLEE.

No. 81-278.District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
February 23, 1982. Rehearing Denied March 23, 1982.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Dan Satin, J.

McCormick, Bedford Backmeyer and Gerald L. Bedford, Leonardo P. Mendez, Miami, for appellants.

High, Stack, Lazenby, Bender, Palahach Lacasa and R. Scott Boundy, Coral Gables, for appellee.

Before HENDRY, SCHWARTZ and BASKIN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

The trial judge struck the defendants’ pleadings and entered a default judgment against them because counsel filed a second motion to dismiss eleven days, rather than an answer ten days subsequent to an agreed order which so required.[1] This was much too harsh a sanction for the minor dereliction involved and thus constituted a plain abuse of discretion. Maqueira v. Almas, 409 So.2d 199 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Beaver Crane Service, Inc. v. National Surety Corp., 373 So.2d 88 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Accordingly, the judgment under review is

Reversed.

[1] An answer was in fact filed, after the default had been entered, twelve days after the agreed order.

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