Pena v. Rodriguez
After the father's pleadings were struck for failing to attend mediation, the trial court adjudicated parental responsibility, timesharing, and child support based solely on the mother's counsel's unsworn proffer, with no evidence taken and no oath administered to the father. The Third District reversed, holding that reliance on unsworn attorney representations, absent a clear stipulation, deprived the father of procedural due process and could not support the final judgment of paternity.
Key facts
- Father's pleadings were struck for failure to attend mediation; trial court then adjudicated parental responsibility, timesharing, and child support based solely on mother's counsel's unsworn proffer without receiving any evidence or administering an oath to the father.
- The trial court relied on attorney representations rather than competent evidence to enter a final judgment of paternity, with no clear stipulation between the parties to permit such reliance.
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Why it matters
Gives family and civil practitioners a clean, citable rule that unsworn attorney proffers are not evidence and cannot support a final judgment — useful whenever a trial court shortcuts an evidentiary hearing in the name… — full analysis with a trial
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