From Barfield v. Doe, decided today by the Florida Court of Appeal, in an opinion by Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, joined by Judges Martha Warner & Edward Artau:
The litigants in the eviction proceeding sought to shield an entire court file from public disclosure. They argued a landlord filed an eviction action after agreeing not to do so and that the landlord received the rental payments before the action was filed. So the litigants argued that public disclosure of the eviction action was potentially defamatory and would affect the tenants' creditworthiness. Citing Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration Rule 2.420(c)(9)(A)(vi) (2022), the county court accepted these reasons as a basis to seal portions of the court file….
