Amendment to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

In an effort to promote fair and timely resolution of civil cases, the Florida Supreme Court recently adopted amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. The key changes, effective January 1, 2025, are outlined below.

 

REQUIRED CASE MANAGEMENT TRACKS AND CASE MANAGEMENT ORDERS

Every civil case will have a streamlined, general or complex case management track. Cases must be assigned to a track within 120 days of commencement. Complex cases proceed under Rule 1.201, streamlined cases have limited discovery needs and an anticipated trial length of three days or less, and general cases are all other actions not meeting streamlined or complex criteria. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.200, Case Management; Pretrial Procedure. [Effective January 1, 2025].

Courts must issue case management orders specifying projected or actual trial periods. These orders must set deadlines consistent with the time standards in Rule 2.250(a)(1)(B) and include deadlines for the service of complaints, adding new parties, discovery completion, and resolution of pre-trial motions.

PRACTICE TIP: Know your case management track, docket all deadlines upon receipt of the case management order, advise your client accordingly, and proactively ensure all deadlines are met. Courts or a party may set case management conferences (CMC) at any time. Communicate with opposing counsel early on to determine a mutual agreement trial period before a CMC or a trial order is issued and file an agreed order which will alert the court to issue the trial order for the agreed trial period. Also, note that parties may submit an agreed order to extend a deadline IF the extension does not affect the ability to comply with the remaining dates in the case management order.

 

MANDATORY DUTY TO CONFER ON NON-DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202, mandates that parties must confer before filing any non-dispositive motion and requires the filing of a statement certifying conferral with the opposing party and stating whether the opposing party agrees on the resolution of the motion. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.202 [Effective January 1, 2025]. The movant cannot reserve a hearing date until the conferral has occurred. The certificate of conferral must indicate the means of communication, the date of the conferral and whether there is an agreement to the relief sought.

PRACTICE TIP: Since the method of communication for conferral is not designated, best practice is to make sure the communication efforts are meaningful, in good faith and clearly documented.

 

 

THE “FEDERAL” PROPORTIONALITY RULE FOR DISCOVERY

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280 mandates initial discovery disclosures and a duty to supplement discovery. Initial discovery disclosures are required within 60 days of complaint service or joinder and include information such as: (1) the names and contact information for each individual likely to have discoverable information along with the subjects of that information; (2) a copy or description of documents and tangible items that may be used to support claims or defenses, unless the use would be solely for impeachment; (3) a computation of damages; and (4) any insurance agreements that may satisfy all or part of a judgment.

Proportionality language from Federal Rule 26(b)(1) is incorporated into the scope of discovery which states parties may obtain discovery regarding any non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense (and proportional to the needs of the case), considering the importance of the issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’ relative access to relevant information, the parties’ resources, the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit. There is also a duty to supplement discovery responses where disclosure or response is discovered to be incomplete or incorrect. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280 [Effective January 1, 2025].

PRACTICE TIP: The 60-day initial disclosure requirement is expected to be a new category in case management orders. Counsel should expect sanctions for non-compliance. If an extension is needed, be proactive and seek a reasonable extension (20 days or less) via motion for leave before the 60-day deadline expires. With respect to the adoption of the “Federal” proportionality rule, this balancing test will be helpful to support objections and/or motions for protective order from overbroad or unduly burdensome discovery.

 

DEPOSITIONS AND FILING OF TRANSCRIPTS

The title of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.310 is changed to “Depositions on Oral Examination”. Subdivision (b)(6) is amended to include “or other entity” in the list of entities that can be named as deponents. A new subdivision (f)(3)(C) is created, requiring filed transcripts to be in full-page format unless otherwise authorized. The court amended subdivisions (d) and (f) of rule 1.310 by replacing references to specific provisions of rule 1.280 (General Provisions Governing Discovery) with general references to the rule. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.310 [Effective October 1, 2025].

The title of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.080 is changed to “Service and Filing of Pleadings; Orders; Documents; and Transcripts”.  A new subdivision (d) is added to Rule 1.080, addressing the format of filed transcripts. Filed transcripts must be in full-page format unless condensed transcripts are authorized by the court. PDF versions of transcripts must be text searchable. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.080  [Effective October 1, 2024].

PRACTICE TIP: Be sure to educate your staff on rule changes to ensure compliance at all levels and avoid embarrassment of a silly mistake, such as filing the transcript improperly which may result it in being stricken.

 

TRIAL SETTING AND CONTINUANCES DISFAVORED

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440 is amended to remove the “at issue” requirement for setting trial dates. Courts must enter an order fixing the trial period 45 days before the projected trial period in the case management order. Trial periods must begin at least 30 days after the court’s service of the order. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.440 [Effective January 1, 2025].

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.460 is rewritten to emphasize that continuances are “disfavored” and should rarely be granted. Motions for continuance must be filed promptly and state specific reasons for the need for continuance, which will only be granted upon good cause shown. Courts must use appropriate methods to address issues causing delay. Parties may submit agreed orders to extend deadlines if it does not affect other case management order dates. Motions to extend deadlines or amend case management orders must specify reasons, opposition status, and proposed new dates.  Orders granting continuances must set a new trial period or case management conference. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.460 [Effective January 1, 2025].

PRACTICE TIP: The “at issue” rule is gone, making trial readiness no longer tied to the closure of pleadings. Be prepared for your case to proceed to trial on an accelerated timeline, even if a motion to dismiss or an amended complaint is pending, which could “reopen” the pleadings. This includes making sure your case is ready for trial and ensuring availability of your witnesses well in advance. If you have difficulty setting a dispositive motion for hearing or securing discovery, be proactive! Set a CMC or status conference for the purpose of setting the pending motion or ordering a party to cooperate in scheduling or in securing discovery. Be sure to identify the specific issues to be addressed and provide a list of all pending motions. Motions to Continue must be in writing and specifically address the need for continuance and when the need became known, so don’t delay! Also make sure to confer with opposing counsel and certify the conferral in the motion.

 

MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 is amended to tie the deadline to respond to a motion for summary judgment to the date of service of the motion rather than to the hearing date. The response will be due no later than 60 days after service of the motion for summary judgment. This change to the summary judgment procedure will help ensure adherence to the deadlines set forth in the case management orders. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510 [Effective January 1, 2025].

PRACTICE TIP: The timing and procedures for summary judgment motions are crucial. Be sure to write diary response dates upon service of a motion for summary judgment and expect that if the 60-day deadline is missed the court may rule on the motion without a hearing. If there is a good faith basis for an extension of the response time, proactively seek leave of court before the deadline expires. Don’t forget that any party may move for dismissal of an action or of any claim against that party for failure of an adverse party to comply with the rules of any order of the court Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(B).

 

ARBITRATION

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.820 rule is retitled to “Notice of Rejection of the Arbitration Decision and Request for Trial” and amended to clarify the process for rejecting an arbitrator’s decision and requesting a trial de novo. Under the amended rule, an arbitration decision will be deemed rejected only if a “notice of rejection of the arbitration decision and request for trial” is filed with the court within 20 days of service of the arbitrator’s written decision. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.820.

PRACTICE TIP: Be sure to educate legal staff on rule changes to ensure proper deadlines are docketed and met.