Colby Materials, Inc. v. Caldwell Construction, Inc.

Caldwell Construction, Inc. (Caldwell) (defendant) sued Colby Materials, Inc. (Colby) (plaintiff) to recover an alleged double payment. Colby filed a motion to dismiss Caldwell’s action; the motion-to-dismiss was prepared and filed by Colby’s owner, who was not a licensed attorney. In response, Caldwell (1) moved to strike Colby’s motion-to-dismiss, arguing that the motion-to-dismiss was a nullity because it was filed by Colby’s owner rather than by a licensed Florida attorney; and (2) moved for a default judgment against Colby for failing to file a valid, timely response to Caldwell’s complaint. In response, Colby, this time through a licensed attorney, withdrew its motion-to-dismiss and requested a reasonable extension of time to file a valid responsive pleading. The trial court entered a default judgment in Caldwell’s favor, holding that Colby was not entitled to an extension absent a showing of excusable neglect. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed, citing Colby’s failure to timely file a valid responsive pleading. Colby appealed, arguing that the appellate court’s ruling should be quashed because it directly conflicted with Torrey v. Leesburg Regional Medical Center. In Torrey, the Florida Supreme Court held that pleadings filed by unlicensed attorneys must be treated as amendable defects, not nullities; Colby argued that, by that logic, Colby should have been given leave to amend its defective motion-to-dismiss by filing a valid responsive pleading.