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A new era of civil case management in Florida: Supreme Court of Florida overhauls case management statewide

12/20/24

By: Richard Jones and Stinelly “Nelly” Peña

The Supreme Court of Florida has finalized a major overhaul of Florida’s civil case management and discovery rules via amendments to Florida’s Rules of Civil Procedure. These rule changes will take effect on January 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. 

The new rules aim to reduce unnecessary litigation and optimize case management through a more streamlined litigation process, mandated deadlines, and stringent discovery requirements. This includes stricter timelines for case resolution; an adoption of the federal standard for discovery as to proportionality, objections, and initial disclosures; conferral requirements for most motions; and timing modifications to the summary judgment rule. 

Attorneys and their clients should be prepared to address these changes as they represent a significant departure from the way civil cases have traditionally been managed in Florida.   

Here’s a summary overview of some of the key changes: 

Case Management: 

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.200 (Case Management and Pretrial Procedure) 

Under revised Rule 1.200 every civil case must be assigned to one of three tracks (complex, general, or streamlined) within 120 days of inception of an action and a corresponding case management order issued. Case management orders must include at least the following deadlines: (1) service of the complaint; (2) service under extensions; (3) adding new parties; (4) completion of fact discovery; (5) completion of expert discovery; (6) summary judgment motions; (7) objections to pleadings; (8) resolution of pretrial motions; and (9) completion of alternative dispute resolution (i.e. mediation). 

Per the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, these changes will require complex cases to be completed within 30 months, general cases resolved with 18 months, and all others within a year. 

Deadlines in these orders must be strictly enforced, and motions to extend case management deadlines are less likely to be approved. However, parties may submit agreed orders to extend a deadline, provided that the extension does not impact the ability to comply with the remaining dates in the case management order.   

The court also amended Rule 1.090 to exempt trial continuances from the general provisions governing extensions of time and indicates that Rule 1.460 governs any continuances of the trial deadline. 

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440 (Setting Action for Trial) and 1.460 (Continuances of Trial) 

Old Rule 1.440 deemed a case ready for trial when it was “at issue.” A case was “at issue” only after any motions directed to the last pleading served had been resolved or, if no such motions were pending, 20 days after service of the last pleading. From a practical perspective, this meant that if a motion to dismiss was pending, a civil case could not be tried until the motion was ruled on, which allowed strategic continuances of pretrial deadlines upon amendment to the pleadings. 

New Rule 1.440 eliminates the “at issue” requirement and instead provides that the failure of the pleadings to be closed will not preclude the court from setting a case for trial. In addition, Rule 1.440 now requires the courts to enter an order setting the actual trial period 45 days before the projected trial period set forth in the case management order.  

Modifications of the trial date are governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.460, which now provides that if a trial is not reached during the trial period set by court order, the court must enter an order setting a new trial period as soon as practicable, given the needs of the case and resources of the court. Revised Rule 1.460 also emphasizes that motions to continue trials are disfavored and should only be granted for good cause; and if a continuance is precipitated due to the dilatory conduct of any party, the court may impose sanctions against that party. 

Thus, litigants in Florida should assume their cases will go to trial within the time frames set by the case management order. 

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202 (Conferral Before Filing Motions) 

Before the filing of non-dispositive motions, parties must now discuss the motion (“confer”) and include proof of this within the motion via a “certificate of conferral.” Some dispositive motions are exempt from this requirement, and the rule does not apply if either party is unrepresented by a lawyer. 

If a party fails to meet the new conferral requirement, they could face penalties such as the motion being denied without prejudice, or even more severe consequences for intentionally avoiding conferral. These changes are set to take effect for motions filed on or after January 1, 2025; the conferral requirement will not apply to motions filed before that date. 

Discovery: 

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280 (General Provisions Governing Discovery), Rule 1.340, and Rule 1.350 

Per the amendments to Rule 1.280, Florida will adopt the federal proportionality standard of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1). This limits discovery to matters that are proportional to the needs of the case and considers factors like: (1) the importance of the issues in the case, (2) the amount in controversy, (3) the parties’ access to relevant information, (4) the parties’ resources, (5) and the burden or expense of proposed discovery versus its likely benefit.  

To curtail boilerplate proportionality objections, the court also amended rules 1.340 and 1.350 to require objections to be stated “with specificity,” “including the reasons” for an objection. It is now further required that an objection state whether any responsive materials are being withheld based on that objection, and if the objection is made as to only part of a discovery request, the objecting party must specify the part being objected to and permit inspection of the rest.  

This rule change mandates initial discovery disclosures within 60 days of service of the complaint. Much like in federal court, a party defendant will need to disclose certain details early on in a case, such as key witnesses, documents, and copies of their insurance policy (if any). A party will not be able to seek discovery before fulfilling its initial disclosure obligations, unless permitted by the rules, stipulation, or court order. The rules also now contain a requirement for supplementing prior discovery responses. 

Motions for Summary Judgment: 

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 (Motions for Summary Judgment) 

For summary judgment motions filed after January 1, 2025, the deadline for responding will now be tied to when the motion is served—rather than when the hearing is scheduled—under the new amendment to Rule 1.510. Responses to a motion for summary judgment must now be served no later than 40 days after the initial motion is served. If there is a hearing on the motion, it must be scheduled at least 10 days after the response deadline, absent agreement of the parties or court order. 

Conclusion 

The Supreme Court of Florida’s overhaul of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure marks a major departure from traditional practices in civil case management, fundamentally reshaping litigation practice in Florida. As these changes take effect in the new year, attorneys and their clients will need to quickly adapt to the new rules. It is crucial to explore navigation of these complex updates at the inception of civil cases to stay ahead of the curve.  

For more information, please contact Richard Jones at richard.jones@fmglaw.com, Nelly Peña at stinelly.pena@fmglaw.com, or your local FMG attorney.