Phinney v. Phinney
The Third District reversed a non-final order disqualifying an incapacitated husband's sister (who served both as his guardian and as his limited-appearance counsel) from all phases of a dissolution proceeding because she was a necessary fact witness. The court held that Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-3.7 by its text applies only to acting as an advocate 'at a trial,' so a blanket disqualification covering all proceedings was an abuse of discretion; counsel may still appear in pretrial and posttrial matters.
Key facts
- In a dissolution proceeding, an incapacitated husband's sister served as both his guardian and limited-appearance counsel.
- The trial court issued a non-final order disqualifying the sister from all phases of the dissolution proceeding because she was a necessary fact witness.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion gives litigators a clean Third District statement that a lawyer-witness may be disqualified only from trial advocacy, not from the entire case, aligning the Third District with the Second and Fourth DCAs… — full analysis with a trial
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