Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1384
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01357B-18                                          20181384__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the jurisdiction of the county
    3         court; amending s. 34.01, F.S.; increasing the limit
    4         of the amount in controversy in certain actions at law
    5         under which the county court has original jurisdiction
    6         of such actions; providing for adjustments to the
    7         limit at specified intervals due to inflation or
    8         deflation; providing an effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 34.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   13  read:
   14         34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
   15         (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
   16         (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
   17  courts.;
   18         (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances.;
   19         (c) Of all actions at law in which the matter in
   20  controversy does not exceed the sum of $100,000 $15,000,
   21  exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney attorney’s fees,
   22  except those within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit
   23  courts.; and This limit must be adjusted every 10 years after
   24  July 1, 2018, to reflect the rate of inflation or deflation as
   25  indicated in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers,
   26  U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as reported
   27  by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
   28  Statistics or its successor.
   29         (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
   30  as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
   31  jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
   32         (2) The county courts shall have jurisdiction previously
   33  exercised by county judges’ courts other than that vested in the
   34  circuit court by s. 26.012, except that county court judges may
   35  hear matters involving dissolution of marriage under the
   36  simplified dissolution procedure pursuant to the Florida Family
   37  Law Rules of Procedure or may issue a final order for
   38  dissolution in cases where the matter is uncontested, and the
   39  jurisdiction previously exercised by county courts, the claims
   40  court, small claims courts, small claims magistrates courts,
   41  magistrates courts, justice of the peace courts, municipal
   42  courts, and courts of chartered counties, including but not
   43  limited to the counties referred to in ss. 9, 10, 11, and 24,
   44  Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s.
   45  (6)(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1968.
   46         (3) Judges of county courts shall also be committing trial
   47  court judges. Judges of county courts shall be coroners unless
   48  otherwise provided by law or by rule of the Supreme Court.
   49         (4) Judges of county courts may hear all matters in equity
   50  involved in any case within the jurisdictional amount of the
   51  county court, except as otherwise restricted by the State
   52  Constitution or the laws of Florida.
   53         (5) A county court is a trial court.
   54         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.