LUCY HADI, AS SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES v. L.B., B.B., R.B., & E.B., MINOR CHILDREN

 Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA LUCY HADI, as Secretary for the Department of Children and Families, Petitioner, NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED CASE NO. 1D06-4724 v. L.B., B.B., R.B., & E.B., minor children, Respondents. ___________________________/ Opinion filed December 19, 2006. Petition for Writ of Certiorari - Original Jurisdiction. Lucy Goddard-Teel, District Legal Counsel, and Gregory D. Venz, Assistant General Counsel, Gainesville, for Petitioner. Merrill C. Tunsil, Attorney ad Litem, and Sandra H. Peterson, Guardian Ad Litem Program Attorney, Lake City, for Respondents. PER CURIAM. We have for review a petition for writ of certiorari challenging the portion of the trial court s order directing the attorney for the Department of Children and Families to subpoena the Secretary of the Department, Lucy Hadi, to appear before the trial court to testify as to whether the Department has an appropriate placement in Florida for B.B., a dependent minor. Because the information sought by the trial court is available from lesser ranking officers, the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law by directing the Department to subpoena Secretary Hadi. Dep t of Health & Rehab. Servs. v. Brooke, 573 So. 2d 363, 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), approved by F.G. v. Agency for Persons with Disabilities, 31 Fla. L. Weekly S610 (Fla. Sept. 28, 2006). We therefore grant the petition and quash the portion of the trial court s order directing the Department to subpoena Secretary Hadi. We note that the trial court is free to subpoena a lesser ranking officer to obtain any additional information to assist in the placement of B.B. ERVIN, DAVIS, and BENTON, JJ., CONCUR. 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.