MIKHAIL BORISOVICH BELYAK v. LAKE HOLDING & FINANCE S.A.

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed May 19, 2021.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-0934
Lower Tribunal No. 19-35235
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Mikhail Borisovich Belyak,
Petitioner,
vs.
Lake Holding & Finance S.A.,
Respondent.
A Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, William
Thomas, Judge.
Akerman LLP, and Christopher S. Carver (Fort Lauderdale), and
Gerald B. Cope, Jr., and Kristen M. Fiore, BCS (Tallahassee), and Erica
Gomer (Fort Lauderdale), for petitioner.
Assouline & Berlowe, P.A. and Eric N. Assouline, and Greg M.
Popowitz, for respondent.
Before MILLER, LOBREE, and BOKOR, JJ.
MILLER, J.
Petitioner, Mikhail Borisovich Belyak, seeks certiorari relief from post-
decretal orders compelling discovery. After granting recognition to a series
of Russian money judgments against Belyak, the trial court issued orders
requiring compliance with certain requests for financial discovery. Belyak
has separately appealed the recognition orders, asserting, among other
grounds, the trial court lacked in personam jurisdiction over him. The
appeals have yet to be resolved, thus, bound by our precedent in Far Out
Music, Inc. v. Jordan, 438 So. 2d 912 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), we grant the
petition and quash the orders under review. See also Ward v. Gibson, 340
So. 2d 481, 483 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976) ("[T]he court erred in denying
defendant's motion to quash service upon his attorney of the notice of taking
deposition prior to a determination of the interlocutory appeal challenging the
jurisdiction of the trial court to proceed against the defendant in the cause.”).
Petition granted.
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