Opinion
SC21-1049
10-28-2021
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, FLORIDA RULES OF GENERAL PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, FLORIDA PROBATE RULES, FLORIDA RULES OF TRAFFIC COURT, FLORIDA SMALL CLAIMS RULES, FLORIDARULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE, FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE, AND FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULESOF PROCEDURE.
Jason Paul Stearns, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; Stanford R. Solomon, Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee, Tampa, Florida; Alan Scott Apte, Chair, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, Orlando, Florida; Cady L. Huss, Chair, Florida Probate Rules Committee, Sarasota, Florida; Carter T. Hillstrom, Chair, Traffic Court Rules Committee, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kevin McKinley Stone, Chair, Small Claims Rules Committee, Mount Dora, Florida; Candice Kaye Brower, Chair, Juvenile Court Rules Committee, Gainesville, Florida; Laura Roe, Chair, Appellate Court Rules Committee, St. Petersburg, Florida; Ashley Elizabeth Taylor, Chair, Family Law Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; and Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, Krys Godwin and Mikalla Andies Davis, Staff Liaisons, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioners
Original Proceeding - Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Probate Rules, Florida Rules of Traffic Court, Florida Small Claims Rules, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure
Jason Paul Stearns, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; Stanford R. Solomon, Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee, Tampa, Florida; Alan Scott Apte, Chair, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, Orlando, Florida; Cady L. Huss, Chair, Florida Probate Rules Committee, Sarasota, Florida; Carter T. Hillstrom, Chair, Traffic Court Rules Committee, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kevin McKinley Stone, Chair, Small Claims Rules Committee, Mount Dora, Florida; Candice Kaye Brower, Chair, Juvenile Court Rules Committee, Gainesville, Florida; Laura Roe, Chair, Appellate Court Rules Committee, St. Petersburg, Florida; Ashley Elizabeth Taylor, Chair, Family Law Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; and Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, Krys Godwin and Mikalla Andies Davis, Staff Liaisons, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioners
PER CURIAM
Before the Court is the Joint Report on Correction of References to the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration filed by The Florida Bar's Rules of Court Committees (Committees) proposing amendments to several rules of procedure used in Florida Courts. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. See also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(b)(1). 1
The joint report was filed by the following committees: the Rules of Civil Procedure Committee, the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee, the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, the Probate Rules Committee, the Traffic Court Rules Committee, the Small Claims Rules Committee, the Juvenile Court Rules Committee, the Appellate Court Rules Committee, and the Family Law Rules Committee.
Recently, in In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration-2020 Regular-Cycle Report, 310 So.3d 374 (Fla. 2021), the Court amended Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.110 (Scope and Purpose) to change the title of the "Florida Rules of Judicial Administration" to "Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration." Id. at 375-76. The Court made this change to emphasize to all Bar members that such rules are relevant not just to judges, but to those engaged in the day-to-day practice of law as well. Id. at 376.
To ensure the title is accurately referenced throughout the Florida rules of court procedure, the Committees propose amending several bodies of rules to replace references to the "Florida Rules of Judicial Administration" with the "Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration." The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar unanimously approved the Committees' proposal. 2
Upon consideration of these straightforward amendments, the Court hereby amends various Florida rules of court procedure as proposed by the Committees, except that it declines, in this proceeding, to adopt the proposed amendments to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.280 (General Provisions Governing Discovery) and 1.340 (Interrogatories to Parties), because the needed revisions have already been made by our recent decision in In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.280 & 1.340 , No. SC21-120 (Fla. Oct. 7, 2021).
Accordingly, the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Probate Rules, Florida Rules of Traffic Court, Florida Small Claims Rules, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure are amended as set forth in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring, and deletions are indicated by struck-through type. The Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure forms are fully engrossed and ready to use; these forms may be accessed and downloaded from the Florida Courts website at https://www.flcourts.org/Resources- 3
Services/Court-Improvement/Family-Courts/Family-Law-Forms. By adoption of the amended family law forms, we express no opinion as to their correctness or applicability.
The amendments shall become effective immediately upon the release of this opinion. Because the amendments were not published for comment previously, interested persons shall have seventy-five days from the date of this opinion in which to file comments with the Court.
All comments must be filed with the Court on or before January 11, 2022, as well as a separate request for oral argument if the person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral argument, which may be scheduled in this case. If filed by an attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must be electronically filed via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Portal) in accordance with In re Electronic Filing in the Supreme Court of Florida via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC13-7 (Feb. 18, 2013). If filed by a nonlawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in Florida, the comment may be, but is not required to be, filed via the Portal. Any person unable to submit a comment electronically must mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the Florida Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927; no additional copies are required or will be accepted.
It is so ordered.
CANADY, CJ, and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, MUÑIZ, COURIEL, and GROSSHANS, JJ, concur
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 4
(APPENDIX OMITTED) 5