Reconsideration or Rehearing: Is There a Difference?

In Florida, lawyers often believe they have 10 days to ask for a rehearing of a court decision, but it’s not always true. The rules only allow for a motion for rehearing for final judgments, not for other types of orders. However, the court can still reconsider these other orders before making a final decision. This can be confusing for lawyers who may not understand the difference between a rehearing and a reconsideration. Motions for reconsideration have been around for a long time in common law. They allow a court to change or cancel a decision before the final judgment is made. Even though the rules for this are not clear, lawyers have to rely on case law to understand how it works. In the past, courts had the power to change or cancel decisions at any time during a case, but now there are specific rules for this. But those rules don’t say anything about changing decisions before the final judgment is made. The Supreme Court made a decision saying that a trial court can change its own temporary decisions before a final judgment. But later, they said that asking for a review of a temporary decision doesn’t stop the time limit for appealing it. They said it’s not allowed to ask for a review of temporary decisions. But they didn’t mention that a party can still ask the court to reconsider and change its temporary decisions. A court case from 1984 clarified that while nonfinal orders usually can’t be challenged with a motion for rehearing, a judge can still choose to consider it. Another case in 1987 confirmed that a motion for reconsideration is different from a motion for rehearing, and a trial court can change or cancel its nonfinal decisions before the final judgment. The rules for when and how these motions can be made are different, with motions for reconsideration being more flexible. In Florida, there are rules about when and how you can ask a court to change a decision. If you want to challenge a final decision, you can file a motion for rehearing, which stops the clock for filing an appeal until the court decides on your motion. But if you want to challenge a nonfinal decision, like an order to do something before the case is over, you can file a motion for reconsideration. However, a motion for reconsideration doesn’t stop the clock for filing an appeal, and the time limit for appeals from nonfinal decisions is always 30 days, no matter what. There are also some specific types of decisions that you can’t ask the court to reconsider, like orders granting a new trial or decisions that have already been reviewed by a higher court. So, it’s important to understand the rules and deadlines if you want to challenge a court decision in Florida. In Florida, motions for reconsideration and motions for rehearing are different. A motion for rehearing is for final orders and must be filed within 10 days, while a motion for reconsideration can be for any nonfinal order and has no time limit. It’s important to use the right name for the motion to avoid confusion. The court made a decision based on a previous case and some legal technicalities. They also mentioned some rules and procedures for making appeals. A few other cases were mentioned as examples. Overall, the court’s decision was based on past cases and legal rules. Here are examples of court cases in Florida where a “motion for rehearing” was made or mentioned. These cases involve different legal issues and courts within the state of Florida. For example, there are cases about child custody, temporary injunctions, and dismissal of a complaint. The cases show how the legal process works in Florida and how different courts handle different types of legal matters. We want lawyers to be good and helpful to the public, make the justice system better, and learn more about laws.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/reconsideration-or-rehearing-is-there-a-difference/