District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College v. Marvin Dunn

Third District Court of Appeal

State of Florida

Opinion filed April 29, 2026. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

No. 3D26-0438

Lower Tribunal No. 25-19608-CA-01

District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College, Petitioner,

vs.

Marvin Dunn, Respondent.

Case of Original Jurisdiction – Prohibition.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and David Dewhirst, Solicitor General, and Jason J. Muehlhoff, Chief Deputy Solicitor General and Casey J. Witte, Solicitor General Fellow (Tallahassee); Continental PLLC, and Jesus M. Suarez, and Carmen M. Cartaya; Office of Legal Affairs Miami Dade College, and Javier A. Ley-Soto, for petitioner.

Rivero Mestre LLP, and Andres Rivero; and The Brodsky Law Firm, and Richard E. Brodsky, for respondent.

Before FERNANDEZ, LOGUE and GORDO, JJ.

2 PER CURIAM. The District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College seeks a writ of prohibition preventing the trial judge from conducting further proceedings in its case. “A motion to recuse or disqualify a trial judge is legally sufficient when the alleged facts would create in a reasonably prudent person a well-founded fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial.” Valdes-Fauli v. Valdes-Fauli, 903 So. 2d 214, 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). A review of the verified motion to disqualify demonstrates that it is legally sufficient to create in a reasonably prudent person a well-founded fear that they would not receive a fair hearing before the judge. See Tundidor v. State, 361 So. 3d 775, 778 (Fla. 2023) (“We conclude that the combination of certain circumstances contained in the allegations . . . would create in a reasonably prudent person a well-founded fear of not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding. . . . [namely] the hugging . . . in the court room while still wearing a robe [] at the conclusion of the . . . case, and the personal exchange . . . in which the judge commiserated with [the opposing party].”). Accordingly, we grant the petition. Petition granted.