Samara v. Tenet Florida Physician Services, 46 Fla. L. Weekly D379 (Fla. 3rd DCA February 17, 2021):
The plaintiff was a former employee of the defendant and sued for sexual harassment and retaliation. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court granted the defendant’s motions to compel arbitration based on an arbitration agreement the plaintiff had signed. She did not appeal the non-final order compelling arbitration.
Over a year later, the plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration and rehearing directed at that order, asserting that she had amended her complaint in arbitration and abandoned her claims for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and argued that the remaining claim for malicious prosecution and defamation did not arise out of the employment. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, and the plaintiff appealed.
An order on a motion for rehearing is not an appealable order pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130(4). Orders simply denying a motion for reconsideration or rehearing are not in and of themselves appealable orders either.In some instances, some motions for rehearing may toll the rendition of an appealable order, but that was not the case in this instance. See, Fla. R. App. P. 9.130(a)(5). The court dismissed the appeal.