Riggins v. Clifford R. Rhoades, P.A.
Attorneys sued former clients for unpaid fees; the clients counterclaimed and filed a third-party complaint for legal malpractice. The trial court dismissed both with prejudice after taking judicial notice of a final judgment from a separate Okeechobee County action attached only to the motion to dismiss. The Sixth DCA reversed the dismissal of the third-party complaint, holding judicial notice cannot be used to circumvent the four-corners rule absent a stipulation, and dismissed the appeal of the counterclaim dismissal for lack of jurisdiction because the malpractice counterclaim was compulsory.
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