Opinion
Case No. 3D00-1669.
Opinion filed March 6, 2002. Rehearing Denied April 12, 2002.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Florida, Jon I. Gordon, Judge. Lower Tribunal No. 91-25724.
Richard H. Breslow, (Boca Raton); Curtis Curtis and Bruce Botsford and Edward R. Curtis, (Ft. Lauderdale), for appellant.
Adorno Zeder and Raoul G. Cantero, III, Miami, and Nicole E. Mestre, for appellee.
Before LEVY and FLETCHER, JJ., and NESBITT, Senior Judge.
We reverse an order of dismissal for failure to prosecute because it appears that the death of predecessor counsel contributed a substantial part in the delay of prosecution of this action which was filed in 1991. In this jurisdiction a disposition of an action on its merits is highly favorable. See Alvarez v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 762 So.2d 943 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (plaintiff's untimely motion that showed good cause for failure to prosecute, but was filed after dismissal order, did not prejudice the defendant and did not preclude consideration of good cause); Schlakman v. Helliwell, Melrose DeWolf, 519 So.2d 14, 15 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) ("physical disability of a plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney constitutes good cause, justifying a trial court's refusal to dismiss a failure to prosecute").
Reversed and remanded.