The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure were changed to make it easier to get a summary judgment in court. This means that a party can ask the judge to decide the case without a trial if there are no important facts in dispute. Florida adopted the same standard as the federal courts, which makes it easier to get a case thrown out before trial. This change is important for lawyers to know about and may affect how cases are handled in the future. Florida has a strict rule for summary judgment, which is when a court decides a case without a trial. In Florida, the party asking for summary judgment has to prove that there are no important facts in dispute. This is different from the federal rule, where the party asking for summary judgment just has to show that there is no evidence to support the other side’s case. Many lawyers and judges in Florida have criticized this strict rule and wanted it to be more like the federal rule. In 2019, the Florida Supreme Court changed the rule in a case called Wilsonart, LLC v. Lopez. In the case of Lopez v. Wilsonart, LLC, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the federal standard for summary judgment in a lawsuit. This means that it will be easier for judges to decide cases without a trial if one side’s evidence is much stronger than the other. Some people disagreed with this change, saying that it takes away the jury’s role in deciding disputes. The Court asked for public comments to help make the change as smooth as possible. The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments about changing a rule for court cases. People agreed there should be some changes, but they disagreed on whether to completely replace the old rule with a new one. Eventually, the court decided to mostly replace the old rule with the new one, which means lawyers can use federal court cases to help them understand the new rule. This will help lower courts know how to interpret the new rule. The court made some changes to the summary judgment rule in Florida. Now, the court has to give specific reasons for granting or denying a summary judgment motion, and there are new time limits for filing and responding to the motion. These changes apply to pending cases too. One justice disagreed with the changes. Lawyers now have to adjust to a new rule change in Florida courts, which makes it easier to file for summary judgment. This means they can ask the judge to decide a case without a full trial. However, they shouldn’t abuse this new rule just to save time and money. They should still carefully consider whether it’s appropriate to file for summary judgment. The change in the rule itself may not make a big difference in how many cases get decided on summary judgment, but it will change how cases are handled in court. The new Florida Supreme Court seems to want to make Florida’s laws more like federal laws, so lawyers might start using tactics that are common in federal courts, like asking for a partial summary judgment. This means a plaintiff might ask the judge to decide who is responsible for something, but leave the question of how much money to a trial. The defendant could also ask for part of the case to be decided without a full trial. This way, cases can be handled more quickly and efficiently, without taking up too much of the court’s time. This article discusses how lawyers and courts are adapting to a new rule for deciding cases quickly. Both parties may have to hire experts earlier to help with their claims and defenses. The new rule also changes how lawyers must argue their case to win at an earlier stage. It’s uncertain how much this new rule will change outcomes in court cases.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/a-primer-on-floridas-new-summary-judgment-standard/
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