S.K. v. Dept. of Children Families

Full title: S.K., the father, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, STATE…

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Mar 12, 2003

839 So. 2d 876 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)

Opinion

Case No. 4D01-5027

Opinion filed March 12, 2003

Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County; Virginia Gay Broome, Judge; L.T. Case No. 98-300421 DPA02JK.

Gary L. Pickett, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Jeffrey Dana Gillen, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We find that the entry of a default and the trial court's denial of the father's motion to vacate the default judgment terminating his parental rights was an abuse of discretion. Rule 8.270 provides that "[o]n motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or the party's legal representative from an order, judgment, or proceeding for the following reasons: Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect." Fla.R.Juv.P. 8.270(1). We find that the father demonstrated at least one of these reasons.

REVERSED.

FARMER, STEVENSON and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.