SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA. v. Case No. SC th DCA Case No. 5D

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1 SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA D.M.T., Appellant, v. Case No. SC th DCA Case No. 5D T.M.H., Appellee. / APPELLEE S VERIFIED OBJECTION TO APPELLANT S MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE INITIAL BRIEF Pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.300, the Appellee, T.M.H., responds to the Appellant s Motion for Extension of Time to File Initial Brief, and requests that this Honorable Court deny the Motion. In support thereof, T.M.H. states: 1. This Fifth District Court of Appeal entered an opinion determining that Appellee is entitled to exercise parental rights for the parties eight year old daughter. 2. In its Acknowledgment of New Case, dated February 16, 2012, this Court stated that,... NO EXTENSIONS OF TIME SHALL BE GRANTED. Motions which would cause delay of this matter should only be filed in extreme circumstances.

2 3. Contrary to this Court s directive, Appellant failed to allege any extreme circumstances as a basis for her motion. 4. As grounds for her motion, Appellee merely alleges that: a. The issues in this case are complex and involve the constitutionality of a state statute. b. Additional time is necessary to prepare a [b]rief. 5. Appellant filed motions in this Court, the Fifth District Court of Appeal and the trial court seeking a stay of the appellate court s mandate. 6. In her motion in the Fifth District (a true and correct copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1 ), Appellant alleged that: a. She intends to appeal to the Supreme Court of Florida.... b. There are procedures for expedited determination of child related matters. The Appellee [instant Appellant] would not anticipate requesting any continuances or delaying the proceeding in any way. 7. It is apparent from her motion filed in the Fifth District, the Appellant had already evaluated her case on appeal and begun to prepare to file an appeal in this Court. 8. The request for stay is still pending in the trial court. 9. Due entirely to the conduct of Appellant, Appellee has not seen her daughter in more than four (4) years. 2

3 10. Any further delay promotes the deterioration of the relationship between mother and daughter and clearly disserves the best interests of the child. 11. Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.300(a) provides that [a] motion for an extension of time shall... contain a certificate that the movant s counsel has consulted opposing counsel and that the movant s counsel is authorized to represent that opposing counsel either has no objection or will promptly file an objection. Appellant s motion contains no such certificate. In fact, undersigned counsel was never contacted concerning the request for relief and only received notice of the filing of the motion after reviewing the Court s online docket. 12. While counsel for Appellant apparently advised the Clerk of the Court that he had attempted to contact undersigned counsel, neither the undersigned nor co-counsel had received any telephone calls, faxes, s, letters or any other correspondence or communication concerning the request contained in the motion. Counsel for Appellee finally contacted the undersigned at approximately 1:00 pm on Friday, March 23, Rule requires some actual contact with opposing counsel. Merritt v. Promo Graphics, Inc., 679 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). 14. The failure to include the certification required by Rule 9.300(a) is inappropriate and should provoke a summary denial of Appellee s motion. Howard 3

4 v. Baumer, 519 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Mills v. Heenan, 382 So. 2d 1317 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). WHEREFORE, Appellant, by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully requests this Honorable Court deny Appellant s motion. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing objection and that the facts stated in it are true. /s ROBERT A. SEGAL Florida Bar No ROBERT A. SEGAL, ESQUIRE 2627 West Eau Gallie, Suite 102 Melbourne, Florida Telephone (321) Facsimile (321) robert@robsegalpa.com ~ and ~ THE CARLYLE APPELLATE LAW FIRM The Carlyle Building 1950 Laurel Manor Drive, Suite 130 The Villages, Florida Telephone (352) Facsimile (352) SHANNON McLIN CARLYLE, B.C.S. Florida Bar No scarlyle@appellatelawfirm.com CHRISTOPHER V. CARLYLE, B.C.S. Florida Bar No ccarlyle@appellatelawfirm.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 4

5 I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been served on: Michael Jones, Esquire, The Wheelock Law Firm, LLC, 7601 Della Drive, Suite 19, Orlando, Florida via U.S. regular mail and facsimile ( ) this 23rd day of March, /s ROBERT A. SEGAL Florida Bar No