Florida judge has history of violating due process

Tess Vega didn't get a fair shake in Judge Kevin Wells courtroom, and she's not the only one.

Judge Kelvin Wells of Walton County, Florida

In 2022, Judge Kelvin Wells issued back to back rulings in Teresita (Tess) Vega’s divorce that taken together make no sense.

He violated her right to due process, and she is not the only victim.

Tess told me that she and her then husband, Michael Dale, moved to Walton County, Florida from Clay County- near Jacksonville- when Michael got a job in in Walton County.

He works for the teacher’s union.

She told me that after about nine months he announced his intention to divorce.

Tess said that she moved to Walton County for his job, and she decided to move back to Clay County, where real estate was cheaper.

She filed for a dissolution of marriage on February 4, 2022. In that filing, she listed her home address as an address in Fleming Island, Florida, in Clay County.

That address was listed multiple times in the filing.

Judge Wells granted her the dissolution on February 7, 2022.

The dissolution granted her the right to move to the Clay County property, but it was never served upon her husband- Tess told me he tried to avoid service- and Michael Dale sprang into action in the meantime.

I reached out to Mr. Dale and his current attorney, Michael Webster, but I received no response.

Webster filed a dissolution of marriage petition himself, and in the petition, he claimed that Tess fled with the kids and disappeared.

Judge Kelvin Wells, who just days earlier granted Tess’s petition which a Clay County address, granted Michael Dale’s petition and demanded she return.

Judge Wells even ordered Tess arrested if she did not comply with his new order.

Judge Wells issued this order on February 17, 2022. Somehow, even though Dale claimed he did not know where Tess was, he had it served on her and it became official.

Judge Wells accepted Dale’s argument that Dale did not know where she was even though she listed her address in her earlier petition to Judge Wells multiple times.

The order requires Tess to live in Walton County to see their two kids.

The problem, Tess told me, is that housing is not affordable for her- a teacher- in Walton County.

Judge Wells has made it impossible for her to see her kids, and he did it without a hearing.

Judge Wells has a history of this kind of due process violation.

In another case, Reynolds V Reynolds, he switched custody without allowing a hearing, and the appeals court was forced to reverse his decision.

The facts are similar to this case. A woman moved out of state without notice. Judge Wells switched custody, but he never provided her a hearing before determining a final custody order. The appeals court was forced to reverse his decision.

It’s not the only time when Judge Wells decided that one side did not have the right to be heard before issuing a decision.

In another decision which was overturned on appeal, Judge Wells issued a protective order without giving the subject of the order a chance to present evidence. Here is part of that appeal.

In yet another case which was reversed, the appeals court determined that Judge Wells did not do any meaningful analysis before determining equitable distribution in a divorce.

Judge Wells will be up for reelection in November 2024. His term will be for six years.