TAMPA, Fla. — Staring Jan. 1, changes are coming to the Florida court system in regards to how civil cases are handled.

A memo from the Florida Bar states that the purpose of the rule changes is to promote the timely resolution of civil cases through effective case management. Part of the reason behind the shift is to alleviate the backlog in cases that started during the COVID-19 court closures in 2020.

What You Need To Know

  • Staring Jan. 1, changes are coming to the Florida court system in regards to how civil cases are handled

  • Officials say the changes will better align Florida civil case procedure with federal rules

  • Part of the reason for the change is to speed things up and help alleviate the backlog that began during COVID-19 court closures 

  • The new rules apply to any motions filed after Jan. 1, even if the case was filed in a previous year 

“The courts right now are faced with a ton of backlog, so if someone has had a case pending for a really long time, hopefully these rules can move it a lot quicker,” explained Attorney Kaelyn Diamond with Ziegler Diamond Law.

Starting in 2025, civil court cases handled in Florida will adhere to a set of rules that align very closely with the federal rules of civil procedure. That means changes are coming to how lawyers and judges handle both case management and discovery.

To date, deadlines in a case often depend on when a hearing is held in court. After Jan. 1, deadlines will depend on when a new motion — or request — is filed.

“Under the new rules, if you file a motion today —  especially if a dispositive motion — the other side has to respond within a certain number of days," Diamond said. "It doesn’t matter when the hearing is. That’s more like federal court."

In regards to discovery, starting in 2025 the law requires that information be relevant to the needs of the case. That is a big shift from the vast amount of information lawyers can request for a case now.

“Be prepared for a little more participation on the case management deadline side of things," Diamond said. "Be prepared for your case to move faster, which is great. Then be prepared to provide less information for discovery than you would have had to before because the scope of that is narrowed."

The shift in rules also impacts judges who now have to meet a stricter set of standards to grant something like a continuance of trial.

Diamond said that while this is a positive for many people involved in civil trails because cases can go faster, those who represent themselves in court could have a more difficult time because of the additional rules about timelines and communication between parties.

“These rules are just a lot more complicated than before and it would be easy to miss a step,” she said.

The change in rules applies to all civil cases in the state of Florida including contract and business disputes, personal injury cases, debt collection, and foreclosures.