In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530 and Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.530 ( 2023 )

Supreme Court of Florida
____________
No. SC2022-0756
____________
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF CIVIL
PROCEDURE 1.530 AND FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULE OF
PROCEDURE 12.530.
October 19, 2023
REVISED OPINION
PER CURIAM.
Previously in this case and on our own motion, we amended
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530 (Motions for New Trial and
Rehearing; Amendments of Judgments; Remittitur or Additur) and
Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.530 (Motions for New Trial
and Rehearing; Amendments of Judgments) to clarify that filing a
motion for rehearing is required to preserve an objection to
insufficient trial court findings in a final judgment order. 1 In re
Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civ. Proc. 1.530 and Fla. Fam. L. Rule of Proc.
12.530, 346 So. 3d 1161 (Fla. 2022). Because the amendments
1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see
also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(d).
were not published for comment prior to their adoption, we gave
interested parties 75 days in which to file comments on the
amendments. Four comments were received.
Having considered the comments filed, we further amend rules
1.530 and 12.530 by replacing “sufficiency of a trial court’s findings
in the final judgment” in subdivision (a) (Jury and Non-Jury
Actions) of both rules with “failure of the trial court to make
required findings of fact in the final judgment.” This change makes
clear that the rules apply only when a judge is required to make
specific findings of fact and not when a party seeks to make other
challenges to a trial court’s order.
Accordingly, we amend the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure as reflected in the
appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by
underscoring and deleted language is indicated by struck-through
type. The amendments shall become effective immediately upon the
release of this opinion.
It is so ordered.
MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS,
and FRANCIS, JJ., concur.
SASSO, J., recused.
-2-
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Florida
Family Law Rules of Procedure
Judson Lee Cohen, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Miami
Lakes, Florida, Landis V. Curry III, Past Chair, Civil Procedure
Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; Elaine D. Walter, Chair,
Appellate Court Rules Committee, Miami, Florida, and Hon. Andrew
D. Manko, Past Chair, Appellate Court Rules Committee,
Tallahassee, Florida; Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, The
Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Heather Savage Telfer, Bar
Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida; Dennis W. Moore,
Interim Executive Director, and Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide
Director of Appeals, on behalf of the Statewide Guardian ad Litem
Office, Tallahassee, Florida; Ariadne FitzGerald, Lyndsey E. Siara,
Jennifer Latta, Melissa Anne Foss, Miranda Margolis, and Christian
Mairena, Tampa, Florida; and Yosef Kudan of Stok Kon +
Braverman, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
Responding with comments
-3-
APPENDIX
FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
RULE 1.530. MOTIONS FOR NEW TRIAL AND REHEARING;
AMENDMENTS OF JUDGMENTS; REMITTITUR
OR ADDITUR
(a) Jury and Non-Jury Actions. A new trial may be granted
to all or any of the parties and on all or a part of the issues. To
preserve for appeal a challenge to the sufficiency of a trial court’s
findings in the final judgmentfailure of the trial court to make
required findings of fact in the final judgment, a party must raise
that issue in a motion for rehearing under this rule. On a motion for
a rehearing of matters heard without a jury, including summary
judgments, the court may open the judgment if one has been
entered, take additional testimony, and enter a new judgment.
(b) – (h) [No Change]
Committee Notes
[No Change]
Court Commentary
[No Change]
FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE
RULE 12.530. MOTIONS FOR NEW TRIAL AND REHEARING;
AMENDMENTS OF JUDGMENTS
(a) Jury and Non-Jury Actions. A new trial or rehearing
may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or a part of the
issues. To preserve for appeal a challenge to the sufficiency of a trial
court’s findings in the final judgmentfailure of the trial court to
make required findings of fact in the final judgment, a party must
raise that issue in a motion for rehearing under this rule. On a
motion for a rehearing of matters heard without a jury, including
-4-
summary judgments, the court may open the judgment if one has
been entered, take additional testimony, and enter a new judgment.
(b) – (h) [No Change]
Court Commentary
[No Change]
-5-