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LACOLIA C. LAYTON,
Defendant.
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ORDER
This casecame to the court at the defendant's request, to review the 5-count,
35 paragraph complaint seeking to recover $4,500.44 on a credit card debt. In a
handwritten entreaty worthy of comparison to Clarence Gideon's (Gideon v.
Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)), the defendant has asked the court to dismiss the
complaint, becauseit was not filed in the small claims division of the county court.
Perhapsanticipating such an objection, the plaintiff assertsthat, "This is a cause of
action for equitable relief pursuant to Florida Statute 34.01, not an action at law
which this County Court has subject matterjurisdiction in that the small claims court
division does not have the jurisdiction over equitable matters..."(quoted verbatim
from paragraph 1].
EQUITABLE SUBROGATION
Despite the plaintiff's frequent invocation of equitable words and phrasesin
the many headings and in the body of the pleading, this action seeksnot a scintilla of
We can call somethinga sus celebensis,but it is and alwayswill bejust a pig. This
is and will always be a small claims case. Under such circumstances,the Small
Claims Rulesdemand, "...a statementof claim in conciseform, which shall inform
the defendantof the basisand the amountof the claim. " Rule 7.050.Fla. Sm.CI. R.
Further, this court is required to construethe Rules, "...to implementthe simple,
speedy,and inexpensivetrial of actions in county courts." Rule 7.01O(a).Fla. Sm.
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VINCE MURPHY
COUNTY COURT JUDGE
cc:
Mindy Taran,Esq.
Erskine& Fleisher
55 WestonRoad, Ste 300
Fort Lauderdale,FI 33326
Lacolia C. Layton
5446 Hardee St.
Naples, FL 34113