We agree that the striking of pleadings or entering a default for noncompliance with an order compelling discovery is the most severe of all sanctions which should be employed only in extreme circumstances. Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). A deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority will justify application of this severest of sanctions, Swindle v. Reid, 242 So.2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), as will bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness, Herold v. Computer Components International, Inc., 252 So.2d 576 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). In Santuoso, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court because the order entering default against the defendants for failing to comply with discovery did not recite that Santuoso's failure to submit to discovery was willful.
We agree that the striking of pleadings or entering a default for noncompliance with an order compelling discovery is the most severe of all sanctions which should be employed only in extreme circumstances. Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). A deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority will justify application of this severest of sanctions, Swindle v. Reid, 242 So.2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), as will bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness, Herold v. Computer Components International, Inc., 252 So.2d 576 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971).
Because striking a party's pleadings is a severe sanction, it is to be used sparingly. Mercer v. Raine, 443 So.2d 944, 946 (Fla.1983) (citing Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)). Circumstances in which it is justified include where a litigant or lawyer's behavior indicates “[a] deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority[,] ... bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness.”
Because striking a party's pleadings is a severe sanction, it is to be used sparingly. Mercer v. Raine, 443 So. 2d 944, 946 (Fla. 1983) (citing Hart v. Weaver, 364 So. 2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)). Circumstances in which it is justified include where a litigant or lawyer's behavior indicates "[a] deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority[,] . . . bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness."
We agree that the striking of pleadings or entering a default for noncompliance with an order compelling discovery is the most severe of all sanctions which should be employed only in extreme circumstances. Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). A deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority will justify application of this severest of sanctions, Swindle v. Reid, 242 So.2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), as will bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness, Herold v. Computer Components International, Inc., 252 So.2d 576 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971).
the striking of pleadings or entering a default for noncompliance with an order compelling discovery is the most severe of all sanctions which should be employed only in extreme circumstances. Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). A deliberate and contumacious disregard of the court's authority will justify application of this severest of sanctions, Swindle v. Reid, 242 So.2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), as will bad faith, willful disregard or gross indifference to an order of the court, or conduct which evinces deliberate callousness, Herold v. Computer Components International, Inc., 252 So.2d 576 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). In the instant case, on three separate occasions, the trial court ordered Garlock to file better answers to the interrogatories.
Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.200(c). However, the striking of a party's pleadings resulting in either dismissal or a default judgment is the most severe sanction. It should be used sparingly and reserved to those instances where the conduct is flagrant, willful or persistent. Morales v. Perez, 445 So.2d 393 (Fla. 3d DCA), cause dismissed, 453 So.2d 44 (Fla. 1984); Masons Concrete of Crystal River, Inc. v. Corbin Well Pump Supply, Inc., 364 So.2d 824 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), cert. denied, 373 So.2d 457 (Fla. 1979); Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). The Florida Supreme Court's recent requirement of an express written finding of willfulness in any order striking a party's pleadings which results in a dismissal or a default judgment, and the lack of such finding in the instant case, mandates a reversal.
As this court has observed, dismissal with prejudice is the most severe of sanctions and should be reserved for the most egregious conduct. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Biddy, 392 So.2d 938 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980); Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). Nevertheless, the standard by which such orders shall be reviewed is whether there was an abuse of discretion. If reasonable persons could differ as to the propriety of the action taken, there can be no finding of an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth Fed. Sav. Loan v. Tubero, 569 So.2d 1271 (Fla. 1990). In Tubero, the supreme court indicated that a trial judge's finding of willfulness may be based upon the record before him and his personal observation of the conduct of the noncomplying party and their counsel.
Johnson v. Landmark First Nat'l Bank, 415 So.2d 161 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). See, e.g., Johnson v. Landmark First Nat'l Bank, supra; Ferrante v. Waters, supra.
Travelers Insurance Company v. Rodriguez, 357 So.2d 464, 465 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). In Hart v. Weaver, 364 So.2d 524, 525 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), we stated: The imposition of the most severe sanctions contemplated by the rules should be reserved for those occasions where the violation is flagrant, persistent or willful or otherwise aggravated.