| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to summary judgment; encouraging the |
| 3 | Florida Supreme Court to adopt rules authorizing a party |
| 4 | to appeal an order denying a motion for summary judgment; |
| 5 | specifying rule criteria; providing an effective date. |
| 6 |
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| 7 | WHEREAS, a motion for summary judgment is a request by a |
| 8 | litigant to the court to enter judgment without a trial because |
| 9 | there are no issues of material fact, and |
| 10 | WHEREAS, summary judgment is a procedure that allows a |
| 11 | litigant to resolve a claim if one party is entitled to prevail |
| 12 | as a matter of law, and |
| 13 | WHEREAS, the purpose of summary judgment is to protect |
| 14 | litigants from having to bear trial costs when triable issues do |
| 15 | not exist, and |
| 16 | WHEREAS, summary judgment promotes efficiency in the |
| 17 | allocation and use of limited judicial resources and thereby |
| 18 | promotes public confidence in the state courts system, and |
| 19 | WHEREAS, Section 4 of Article V of the State Constitution |
| 20 | vests with the Florida Supreme Court the power to provide by |
| 21 | Rules of Court for the review of interlocutory orders such as |
| 22 | the denial of a motion for summary judgment, and |
| 23 | WHEREAS, under the Rules of Procedure, a defendant |
| 24 | typically is not entitled to the immediate appeal of a denial of |
| 25 | a motion for summary judgment, and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, the Florida Supreme Court has declared that the |
| 27 | State Constitution does not authorize the Legislature to provide |
| 28 | for interlocutory review and that a statute purporting to grant |
| 29 | interlocutory appeals is solely a declaration of policy, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, the inability to immediately appeal the denial of |
| 31 | a motion for summary judgment frustrates the beneficial |
| 32 | objectives of summary judgment to the detriment of the public, |
| 33 | and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, summary judgment is a critical tool to facilitate |
| 35 | expeditious and economical resolution of legal matters, and |
| 36 | WHEREAS, a party should have the ability to immediately |
| 37 | appeal a denial of a motion for summary judgment, NOW, |
| 38 | THEREFORE, |
| 39 |
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| 40 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 41 |
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| 42 | Section 1. The Legislature encourages the Florida Supreme |
| 43 | Court, in consultation and cooperation with the Court Rules |
| 44 | Committees of The Florida Bar, trial and appellate judges, and |
| 45 | other practitioners, to adopt rules authorizing a party to |
| 46 | appeal an order of a trial court in a civil action which denies |
| 47 | a motion for summary judgment. The Legislature further |
| 48 | encourages the Supreme Court to provide in the rules: |
| 49 | (1) For the trial court to issue a written order |
| 50 | explaining the basis of the denial of a motion for summary |
| 51 | judgment. |
| 52 | (2) For the matter to be transmitted to the appellate |
| 53 | court solely on the basis of the summary judgment motion. |
| 54 | (3) For the appellant to be authorized to submit a |
| 55 | simplified brief to the appellate court in support of the |
| 56 | granting of discretionary review. |
| 57 | (4) For the case to continue in the trial court until |
| 58 | discretionary review is granted, at which time the appellate |
| 59 | court would temporarily assume jurisdiction until the appeal was |
| 60 | resolved. |
| 61 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |