In re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280, Case No. SC2025-1497 (Fla. 2026).
Effective January 1, 2027, amended Rule 1.280(a)(1)(C) requires parties to disclose computations of claimed damages other than noneconomic damages, and rather than provide copies with their initial disclosures, make supporting materials available for inspection and copying under Rule 1.350.
In re: Amendments to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.270 and Judicial Branch Records Retention Schedule for Administrative Records, Case No. SC2025-1414 (Fla. 2026).
Effective January 1, 2027, amended Rule 2.270 requires website publication but permits optional print publication of proposed standard jury instruction changes, and the amended administrative records retention schedule requires retention of search warrant records, whether executed or unexecuted and not associated with a court case, for one year after warrant issuance.
In re: Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.370 and 9.900, Case No. SC2026-0041 (Fla. 2026).
Effective January 1, 2027, amended Rule 9.370 includes an amicus brief’s identity and interest statement in its word count, and amended Rule 9.900 adds service certificates to appellate forms, including an attorney general service certificate in the notice of constitutional question.
Patterson v. Van Diepen, Case No. 1D2025-2879 (Fla. 1st DCA 2026).
A residential tenant’s failure to deposit accrued rent into the court registry under section 83.60(2), Florida Statutes, waives defenses other than payment to the landlord’s possession claim, including failure to join an indispensable party, but does not authorize a default judgment on the landlord’s separately adjudicated damages claim.
865 East 49th Street Associates LLC v. Valdo Auto Sales Corp., Case No. 3D25-2523 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
A plaintiff who establishes liability for fraud and unjust enrichment may recover zero damages when it fails to establish a genuine factual dispute concerning compensable damages separate from those already awarded for breach of contract.
Gratigny Park Condominium No. 1, Inc. v. Perez and Gonzalez, Case No. 3D26-1268 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
Condominium unit owners asserting derivative claims under Florida Statutes section 718.303(1) must satisfy the applicable pre-suit requirements of former Florida Statutes section 617.07401 (2025) because the statutory authorization to sue an association does not exempt claims enforcing corporate rights and alleging injuries shared equally by unit owners.
Meb Loan Trust VI v. Isaacs, Case No. 3D25-1280 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
A guardian of a ward’s property defends on the ward’s behalf rather than substitutes for the ward as a named party, and thus, an incapacitated record titleholder remains an indispensable defendant in a mortgage foreclosure action despite the appointment of a guardian.
Menuez v. Westport Recovery Corporation, Case No. 3D25-1051 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026).
Res judicata does not bar a nonparty’s subsequent quiet title and related claims when an unelaborated order denying intervention fails to establish a merits adjudication, and moreover, a county court order cannot preclude a homestead exemption claim because determination of such a claim is within the circuit court’s exclusive jurisdiction.
Walters, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Townsend v. Agency for Healthcare Administration, Case No. 3D25-0817 (Fla. 3d DCA 2026)
The 2021 amendment to Florida Statutes section 719.103(25) classifying cooperative unit interests as real property does not apply retroactively to establish constitutional homestead protection for a decedent who died before the amendment’s effective date because the amendment affects substantive rights and lacks clear legislative intent favoring retroactivity.
Federal Insurance Company v. Perlmutter and Perlmutter, Case No. 4D2022-1558, 4D2022-1560, and 4D2022-1562 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026).
A claimant seeking leave to plead punitive damages for intentional misconduct must allege defendant-specific misconduct and proffer evidence supporting actual knowledge of its wrongfulness, and a claimant seeking to impose those damages vicariously on a corporation must also establish a reasonable evidentiary basis for qualifying managing-agent conduct under section 768.72(3), Florida Statutes.
Kennedy v. Kennedy, Case No. 4D2025-2845 and 4D2026-1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026).
A non-modifiable alimony obligation incorporated but not merged into a dissolution judgment qualifies as court-ordered support under the Consumer Credit Protection Act’s exception to the general 25% garnishment limit.
Rubin and Rubin v. Sailfish Point Property Owners and Country Club Association, Inc., Case No. 4D2024-2398 and 4D2025-1575 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026).
An assignee of a real estate contract succeeds to the buyer’s rights rather than the seller’s rights and thus cannot recover attorney’s fees against the assignor under the contract’s buyer-seller fee provision when the assignment contains no fee provision.
