Evans v. Gulf Landings Association, Inc.
A homeowners' 2011 declaratory action over who must maintain a drainage easement ended with an order granting the HOA summary judgment that was never reduced to a final judgment; the case was later dismissed for lack of prosecution. In the HOA's later damages suit, the trial court held the maintenance issue was settled as 'law of the case.' The Second DCA reversed, holding the law of the case doctrine applies only to issues decided on appeal and that collateral estoppel did not apply because the unreduced summary judgment order remained interlocutory and the only final disposition (dismissal for lack of prosecution) was not on the merits.
Key facts
- Homeowners filed a 2011 declaratory action against their HOA seeking to determine which party must maintain a drainage easement; the trial court granted the HOA's summary judgment motion but never reduced the order to a final judgment.
- The original case was later dismissed for lack of prosecution, and the HOA subsequently filed a separate damages suit in which the trial court applied 'law of the case' to bar relitigation of the maintenance issue.
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Why it matters
This opinion draws a bright line litigators can exploit or must guard against: an order 'granting' summary judgment that is never reduced to a final judgment has no preclusive effect, even after the case later dies by… — full analysis with a trial
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