Florida Appellate Law Blog

On January 1, 2023, Florida’s newest district court of appeal officially began operations—the first time a new appellate court opened in our state in 44 years. Chief Judge Meredith Sasso (formerly of the Fifth District Court of Appeal) immediately issued eight administrative orders, which basically function as...Read More

What began in 2019 as part of a major overhaul of the Florida court system will come to a completion on January 1, 2023, with two significant changes coming to Florida courts.Read More

On August 25, 2022, on its own motion, the Florida Supreme Court amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530 and Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.530 now to require a motion for rehearing before challenging on appeal “the sufficiency of a trial court’s findings in the final judgment.”  While at first glance this...Read More

While the Third and Fourth District Courts of Appeal will not change, the boundaries will be moved for the other three Districts in order to carve out an area for the new Sixth District Court of Appeal.Read More

Practitioners who litigate frequently in federal court already know the Herculean task of trying to appeal a remand order sending a removed case back to state court.  Typically, by express rule, a defendant has no appellate recourse if a district court remands a case.  Subject to extremely limited and specific exceptions...Read More

In our latest Florida Appellate Law Blog post, Fort Lauderdale associate Amy Wessel discusses some of the notable amendments to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and Florida Rules of Judicial Administration that will go into effect on January 1, 2019.Read More

A separate motion for attorney’s fees must be timely filed in an appeal in order to recover attorney’s fees incurred in the appeal, even if the fee award is mandated by statute...and even if the trial court declared that you are the “prevailing party”.Read More

In a 4-3 majority opinion authored by Justice Peggy Quince, the Florida Supreme Court declared the Florida Legislature’s 2013 Daubert amendment to the Florida Evidence Code unconstitutional. Read More

A trial lawyer must always take special care to properly preserve a trial court’s errors relating to jury instructions.Read More

In most cases, the filing of a notice of appeal does not automatically stay a judgment pending appeal. In our latest Florida Appellate Law Blog post, Fort Lauderdale associate Amy Wessel discusses how to obtain a stay of a money judgment while your appeal is pending.Read More

Stop! Have you ever wanted to say this before a trial judge rules? Read More

Second-tier certiorari represents the only avenue for further review of a circuit court appellate decision.Read More

In this post, which is the first in a series on original proceedings, Jennifer Sommerville and Suzanne Labrit provide a primer on the basics of common law certiorari jurisdiction and procedure with respect to non-final orders in civil cases. Read More

Attorney Jennifer Sommerville explains why appellate attorney practitioners need to be careful when drafting any order determining that a party is not entitled to statutory immunity. The words "as a matter of law," can make all the difference. Read More

Board certified appellate attorney Suzanne Labrit explains the mechanics of enforcement of mandates.Read More

An appellate court determines the finality of an order, judgment or decree when the order constitutes an end to the judicial labor in the cause and nothing further remains to be done by the court. Although this standard seems straightforward, its application often proves to be tricky. In this post, Amy Wessel explains how to...Read More

Is something lost when a Judge reads our argument only from an electronic screen? Steve Maher examines this question and offers suggestions about how to approach briefing in the ‘post-revolutionary” environment.Read More

Tampa partner, board certified appellate lawyer Suzanne Labrit explains how the ‘tipsy coachman’ doctrine may provide a basis for affirmance even if the trial court’s reason for its ruling is not the ‘right’ reason.Read More

What is the difference between the two rules? Simply put, one leaves the door open for new arguments while the other keeps it shut.Read More

Any Florida appellate attorney worth their salt is familiar with the Applegate line of cases requiring the appellate court to affirm the judgment on appeal when the appellant has not provided a record adequate to demonstrate reversible error. Although it may be tempting to rely on such caselaw when your opponent fails to...Read More

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure will take effect December 1, 2016. Steve Maher discusses the controversial change in reduction of type-volume limitations for appellate briefs.Read More

Can filing a motion for rehearing blow a party’s right to appeal? Yes! Suzanne Labrit outlines three common ‘minefields’ to avoid when considering a motion for rehearing.Read More

When is a motion for rehearing essential? Jake Monk explains when it is critical to move for rehearing in order to preserve an issue for appellate review.Read More

We review the issues and arguments presented, and summarize the opposing positions, on the pending question of whether Daubert or Frye will be the standard for admissibility of expert evidence in Florida courts. Read More

Shutts & Bowen’s Appellate Law Blog analyzes and discusses recent cases, news and trends of interest to appellate practitioners and trial lawyers litigating cases likely to result in appeals. Our experienced authors will cover how to navigate the appellate process, covering topics such as appellate jurisdiction and...Read More