Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed June 13, 2018.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D17-2802
Lower Tribunal No. 14-7997
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City of Miami General Employees' and Sanitation Employees'
Retirement Trust, et al.,
Appellants,
vs.
Jose Rodriguez, et al.,
Appellees.
An Appeal from a non-final order from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade
County, Michael A. Hanzman, Judge.
Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen & Levinson, and Robert D. Klausner, Adam P.
Levinson, and Paul A. Daragjati (Plantation), for appellants.
No appearance for appellees.
Before ROTHENBERG, C.J., and SUAREZ and SCALES, JJ.
ROTHENBERG, C.J.
The defendants below, City of Miami General Employees’ and Sanitation
Employees’ Retirement Trust, et al. (collectively, “the defendants”), appeal from a
non-final order which granted their motion to dismiss Counts I and III of the
operative complaint, but denied their motion to dismiss Count II. Following our
review of the non-final order denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss, and the
defendants’ response to this Court’s order to show cause, we dismiss this non-final
appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
The defendants moved to dismiss all counts of the plaintiffs’ operative
complaint, raising several arguments, including sovereign immunity. During the
hearing held on the defendants’ motion to dismiss, the issue of sovereign
immunity, among others, was raised by the defendants’ counsel. At the conclusion
of the hearing, the trial court took the defendants’ motion to dismiss under
advisement, and thereafter, the trial court issued a twenty-eight page order granting
the defendants’ motion to dismiss as to Counts I and III of the operative complaint,
but denying the motion to dismiss as to Count II.
Despite the length of the non-final order, the order fails to address the issue
of sovereign immunity and there is nothing in the order which reflects that the trial
court has ruled on the immunity issue. Thus, this non-final order is not appealable
pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(C)(x), which permits
the appeal of a non-final order that determines “that, as a matter of law, a party is
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not entitled to immunity under section 768.28(9), Florida Statutes,” or rule
9.130(a)(3)(C)(xi), which permits the appeal of a non-final order that determines
“that, as a matter of law, a party is not entitled to sovereign immunity.” See
generally Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Calonge, 43 Fla. L. Weekly D855 (Fla. 3d
DCA Apr. 18, 2018); Miami-Dade Cty. v. Pozos, 42 Fla. L. Weekly D418 (Fla. 3d
DCA Feb. 15, 2017). Accordingly, we dismiss the defendants’ appeal of the non-
final order as we lack jurisdiction.
Dismissed.
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