Hunt v. SCI Funeral Services of Florida, LLC
The Hunt family sued a cemetery operator alleging it secretly moved their stepfather's casket to an adjacent grave. The Hunts never filed any response to the cemetery's summary judgment motion and instead relied at the hearing on evidence filed with an earlier motion to amend to add punitive damages. The Third District affirmed final summary judgment (and the resulting $237,549 fee award under section 768.79), holding that rule 1.510(c)'s notice requirement is mandatory and that a trial court cannot excuse non-compliance in its discretion.
Key facts
- The Hunt family sued SCI Funeral Services of Florida, LLC, a cemetery operator, alleging it secretly moved their stepfather's casket to an adjacent grave.
- The cemetery operator filed a summary judgment motion; the Hunts did not file a response but instead relied at the hearing on evidence filed with an earlier motion to amend to add punitive damages.
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Why it matters
This is a useful defense-side tool: it treats rule 1.510(c)'s notice requirement as mandatory and non-waivable by the trial court, aligning the Third District with Varnedore (5th DCA) and Figler (4th DCA). Counsel… — full analysis with a trial
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