Law Offices Of Herssein And Herssein, P.A. v. United Services Automobile Association

271 So.3d 889 (Fla. 2018)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Herssein and Herssein 'filed a motion to disqualify the trial judge.' The trial judge denied the disqualification motion as legally insufficient. Herssein petitioned for a writ of prohibition to disqualify the trial court judge. Israel Reyes-an attorney appearing before the trial judge on behalf of a potential witness and potential party in the pending litigation-is listed as a 'friend' on the trial judge's personal Facebook page. Herssein claimed that 'because [the trial judge] is Facebook friends with Reyes, [the executive's] personal attorney, there is a well-grounded fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial. Herssein also believes that Reyes, [the executive's] lawyer has influenced [the trial judge].' The Third District framed the issue as 'whether a reasonably prudent person would fear that he or she could not get a fair and impartial trial because the judge is a Facebook friend with a lawyer who represents a potential witness and party to the lawsuit.' The court cited the general rule that it is a longstanding general principle of law that an allegation of mere friendship between a judge and a litigant or attorney appearing before the judge, standing alone, does not constitute a legally sufficient basis for disqualification. The Third District agreed held as follows. Some people have thousands of Facebook 'friends. Facebook members often cannot recall every person they have accepted as 'friends' or who have accepted them as 'friends.'' Many Facebook 'friends' are selected based upon Facebook's data-mining technology [suggestions] rather than personal interactions.' It concluded that 'a 'friend' on a social networking website is not necessarily a friend in the traditional sense of the word. It held that an assumption that all Facebook 'friends' rise to the level of a close relationship that warrants disqualification simply does not reflect the current nature of this type of electronic social networking. The Third District denied the petition and Herssein appealed.