Court Must Only Rule Upon Issues Presented And Party Is Entitled To Notice Of All Issues To Be Considered

In Worthington v. Worthington (2D12-1361), the Second District reversed, in part, an order entered by the trial court because the order granted relief not requested in the motion pending before it and because the party opposing the motion had not received notice that other issues would be considered. The court stated:

In modification proceedings, as in other civil matters, courts are not authorized to award relief not requested in the pleadings. To grant unrequested relief is an abuse of discretion and reversible error.” Abbott v. Abbott, 98 So. 3d 616, 617-18 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (citations omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a court should not grant such relief absent proper notice to the parties. Sinton v. Sinton, 749 So. 2d 532, 533 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999).