3d DCA Watch -- The One In Which Judge Cope Becomes "Judicially Aware."

Well if you thought last week's edition was a little thin, you better take a pass on this week. You have your usual one-noter cert opinion from Judge Schwartz, as well as an economic-loss rule snoozer from Judge Wells. (Dear Judge Wells, the economic loss rule is confusing enough, is it too much to ask for some background facts before affirming with a string citation? Then your opinion could be useful to practitioners down the road. Just askin'.)

But it was this permanent alimony ruling from Judge Cope that caught my eye:

The husband is correct in saying that the wife should not have based her budget for housing on an assumed purchase of a home in the Florida Keys, when her actual plan was to relocate to Montgomery. Evidence was presented that costs are significantly lower in Montgomery, and we are judicially aware that the housing market in the Florida Keys is extremely expensive. The effect was to overstate the amount the wife needed for housing.

That's a neat trick, huh? It sure saves everyone time and money if you don't actually have to submit evidence at trial in order to prove a point on appeal, it simply is a sub silencio part of the "judicially aware" record. For example, the Court is "judicially aware" that attorney so and so is a complete butthead. Works for me!

Darn those judicial budget cuts really have affected everything.