of setting aside that judgment under Rule 1.540." Powers v. ITT Fin. Servs. Corp., 662 So. 2d 1343, 1345 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). Paladin Props., 952 So. 2d at 562 ; see also Schlesinger v. Chem. Bank, 707 So. 2d 868 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (holding that a successor judge has the authority to vacate a final judgment entered by a judge who had been disqualified after the rendition of the final judgment).
However, numerous cases have reviewed circuit court decisions doing just that, without any indicia that the circuit court might have acted without jurisdiction. See, e.g., Cicoria v. Gazi, 901 So.2d 282 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005); Powers v. ITT Fin. Servs. Corp., 662 So.2d 1343 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). We therefore conclude that section 702.07 cannot be interpreted as depriving a circuit court of jurisdiction to set aside or reconsider a foreclosure judgment upon a proper motion once a foreclosure sale has been held. If the circuit court denied Sterling's motion for relief from judgment on this ground, the court erred.
" Batista v. Batista, 553 So.2d 1281, 1282 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). Essentially, the successor judge is not reconsidering the merits of the predecessor judge's rulings but is instead ruling "on the appropriateness of setting aside that judgment under Rule 1.540." Powers v. ITT Fin, Servs. Corp., 662 So.2d 1343, 1345 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). Here, Family Investment's motion to set aside the default judgment is exactly the type of motion that the supreme court has explicitly held may be considered by a successor judge.
In fact, the law is exactly to the contrary. Tingle v. Dade County Bd. of County Comm'rs, 245 So.2d 76, 77-78 (Fla. 1971); Powers v. ITT Fin. Servs. Corp., 662 So.2d 1343, 1345 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Batista v. Batista, 553 So.2d 1281, 1282 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). When the department seeks to terminate parental rights, its obligation to diligently search for the parents to give them proper notice of the proceedings is paramount. Due process of law should never be disregarded in favor of expediency, especially when fundamental rights are at stake.