9 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 499b
Insurance — Personal injury protection — Appeals — Summary judgment based on case that has since been reversed is reversed — Appellate court must make ruling in accord with law in effect at time of appellate decision, not at time of entry of judgment
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. PATRICIA CRAWFORD, Appellee. Circuit Court, 6th Judicial Circuit (Appellate) in and for Pinellas County. Case Nos. 01-1310 CI-88B 01-2571, 01-5654 01-6668 June 7, 2002. Appeal from a summary judgment entered by the Pinellas County Court. County Judge Karl Grube. Counsel: Dorothy Venable, for Appellant. Margaret Walker, for Appellee.
ORDER AND OPINION
THIS MATTER is before the Court on State Farm’s appeal from a summary judgment entered against it. After reviewing the briefs and record, this Court reverses the summary judgment.
The appellant has filed a total of four appeals in what essentially is a challenge to the entry of a summary judgment in favor of the appellee. All those appeals have been consolidated into this appeal. Both sides agree that the basis for the trial court’s decision was a case that has since been reversed by a higher appellate court. The controlling appellate case is Auto Owners v. Marzulli, 788 So.2d 1031 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Applying that case to this appeal requires a reversal of the summary judgment.
The appellee’s argument that the trial court was correct at the time it made its decision completely ignores the many cases that require an appellate court to make its rulings in accord with the law in effect at the time of the appellate court’s decision rather than the law in effect at the time judgment was entered. See e.g., Robbins v. State, 813 So.2d 960 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).
The appellee’s additional arguments are without merit. There is no need to supplement the record in this case. Therefore, the motion to supplement is denied. Moreover, it is improper to refer in an appellate brief to matters that are outside the record.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the summary judgment is reversed and this matter is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the appellee shall respond to the appellant’s motion for attorney’s fees.
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