AMENDMENT TO RULES 1.510 AND A NEW RULE 1.202
In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 and New Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202, 49 Fla. L. Weekly S138 (Fla. May 23, 2024):
The court on its own motion, amended Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510 (Summary Judgment) and adopted a new Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202 (Conferral Prior to Filing Motions). The changes complement the civil case management amendments set forth above.
The court amended Rule 1.510 to tie the deadline to respond to a motion for summary judgment to the date of service of the motion rather than to the hearing date. The response will be due no later than 60 days after service of the motion for summary judgment. That change will help ensure adherence to the deadline set forth in the case management orders required under Rules 1.200 and 1.201.
To further assist case management efforts, the court adopted new Rule 1.202 to require parties to confer before filing non-dispositive motions. Under the new rule, the movant must file with the motion a statement certifying that the movant has conferred with the opposing party, and also stating whether the opposing party agrees on the resolution of the motion.
A certification that the opposing party was unavailable for a conference before the filing of the motion should also describe all efforts undertaken to accomplish dialogue with the opposing party prior to the filing.
With a detailed certificate of conferral, the trial judge will be in a better position to address problems between the parties at a hearing and given the constraints on hearing time, parties are expected to confer and attempt to resolve issues beforereserving hearing time. These rules will also go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2025.