Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1650
Ì558644@Î558644
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/11/2025 .
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The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice
(Grall) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Present subsection (7) of section 68.093,
6 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8) and amended,
7 a new subsection (7) is added to that section, and subsections
8 (2) through (5) of that section are amended, to read:
9 68.093 Florida Vexatious Litigant Law.—
10 (2) As used in this section, the term:
11 (a) “Action” means an a civil action:
12 1. Governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, rule
13 5.025 of and proceedings governed by the Florida Probate Rules,
14 or the Florida Small Claims Rules, but does not include actions
15 concerning family law matters governed by the Florida Family Law
16 Rules of Procedure; or
17 2. In another state court or federal court governed by
18 rules of procedure comparable to the rules of procedure
19 specified in subparagraph 1. or any action in which the Florida
20 Small Claims Rules apply.
21 (b) “Defendant” means any person or entity, including a
22 corporation, association, partnership, firm, or governmental
23 entity, against whom an action is or was commenced or is sought
24 to be commenced.
25 (c) “Security” means an undertaking by a vexatious litigant
26 to ensure payment to a party defendant in an amount reasonably
27 sufficient to cover the party’s defendant’s anticipated,
28 reasonable expenses of litigation, including attorney attorney’s
29 fees and taxable costs.
30 (c)(d) “Vexatious litigant” means a person, as defined in
31 s. 1.01(3), proceeding pro se, who:
32 1. A person as defined in s. 1.01(3) who, In the
33 immediately preceding 7-year 5-year period, has commenced,
34 prosecuted, or maintained, pro se, five or more civil actions in
35 any court which in this state, except an action governed by the
36 Florida Small Claims Rules, which actions have been finally and
37 adversely determined against such person, except an action may
38 not be included for purposes of this subparagraph if the court
39 finds that the action was commenced, prosecuted, or maintained
40 in good faith or entity; or
41 2. After an action has been finally and adversely
42 determined against the person, repeatedly relitigates or
43 attempts to relitigate either:
44 a. The validity of the determination against the same party
45 in an action that was finally determined; or
46 b. The cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the
47 issues of fact or law determined by the final and adverse
48 determination against the same party in an action that was
49 finally determined;
50 3. Repeatedly files pleadings, requests for relief, or
51 other documents that have been the subject of previous rulings
52 by the court in the same action;
53 4. Repeatedly files unmeritorious pleadings, requests for
54 relief, or other documents;
55 5. Repeatedly conducts unnecessary discovery;
56 6. Repeatedly engages in other tactics that are frivolous
57 or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay in any action; or
58 7.2. Has been Any person or entity previously found to be a
59 vexatious litigant pursuant to this section or by another state
60 court or a federal court.
61
62 An action is not deemed to be “finally and adversely determined”
63 if an appeal in that action is pending. If an action has been
64 commenced on behalf of a party by an attorney licensed to
65 practice law in this state, that action is not deemed to be pro
66 se even if the attorney later withdraws from the representation
67 and the party does not retain new counsel.
68 (3)(a) In any action pending in any court of this state,
69 including actions governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules,
70 any party defendant may move the court, upon notice and hearing,
71 for an order requiring an opposing party the plaintiff to
72 furnish security. The motion must shall be based on the grounds,
73 and supported by a showing, that the opposing party subject to
74 the motion plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not
75 reasonably likely to prevail on the merits of the action against
76 the moving party defendant.
77 (b) At the hearing upon any defendant’s motion for an order
78 to post security, the court shall consider any evidence, written
79 or oral, by witness or affidavit, which may be relevant to the
80 consideration of the motion. A No determination made by the
81 court in such a hearing is not shall be admissible on the merits
82 of the action nor or deemed to be a determination of any issue
83 in the action. If, after hearing the evidence, the court
84 determines that the opposing party subject to the motion
85 plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not reasonably likely
86 to prevail on the merits of the action against the moving party
87 defendant, the court must shall order the vexatious litigant
88 plaintiff to furnish security to the moving party defendant in
89 an amount and within such time as the court deems appropriate.
90 (c) If the vexatious litigant plaintiff fails to post
91 security required by an order of the court under this section
92 and the vexatious litigant is:
93 1. A plaintiff or petitioner, the court must shall
94 immediately issue an order dismissing the action with prejudice
95 as to the moving party defendant for whose benefit the security
96 was ordered; or
97 2. A defendant or respondent, the court may immediately
98 issue an order imposing one or more of the following sanctions,
99 as appropriate:
100 a. Denial of the vexatious litigant’s request for relief;
101 b. Striking of the vexatious litigant’s pleading or other
102 document or part thereof; or
103 c. Rendition of a judgment by default against the vexatious
104 litigant.
105 (d) If the a motion for an order to post security is filed
106 before prior to the trial in an action, the action is shall be
107 automatically stayed and the moving party defendant need not
108 plead or otherwise respond to the vexatious litigant’s
109 complaint, pleading, request for relief, or other document until
110 10 days after the motion for an order to post security is
111 denied. If the motion for an order to post security is granted,
112 the moving party must defendant shall respond or plead no later
113 than 10 days after the required security has been furnished.
114 (4) In addition to any other relief provided in this
115 section, the court in any judicial circuit may, on its own
116 motion or on the motion of any party, enter a prefiling order
117 prohibiting a vexatious litigant from commencing, pro se, any
118 new action in the courts of that circuit without first obtaining
119 leave of the court administrative judge of that circuit.
120 Disobedience of such an order may be punished as contempt of
121 court by the administrative judge of that circuit. Leave of
122 court shall be granted by the court administrative judge only
123 upon a showing that the proposed action is meritorious and is
124 not being filed for the purpose of delay or harassment. The
125 court administrative judge may condition the filing of the
126 proposed action upon the furnishing of security as provided in
127 this section.
128 (5) The clerk of the court may shall not file any new
129 action by a pro se vexatious litigant against whom a prefiling
130 order has been entered pro se unless the vexatious litigant has
131 obtained an order from the court allowing administrative judge
132 permitting such filing. If the clerk of the court mistakenly
133 allows a pro se permits a vexatious litigant to file any new an
134 action pro se in contravention of a prefiling order, any party
135 to that action may file with the clerk and serve on the
136 vexatious litigant plaintiff and all other parties defendants a
137 notice stating that the plaintiff is a pro se vexatious litigant
138 is subject to a prefiling order. The filing of such a notice
139 shall automatically stays stay the litigation against all
140 parties defendants to the action. The court administrative judge
141 shall automatically dismiss the action with prejudice within 10
142 days after the filing of such notice unless the vexatious
143 litigant plaintiff files a motion for leave to file the new
144 action. If the court administrative judge issues an order
145 granting leave, the pleadings or other responses permitting the
146 action to be filed, the defendants need not plead or otherwise
147 respond to the complaint need not be filed until 10 days after
148 the date of service by the vexatious litigant plaintiff, by
149 United States mail, of a copy of the order granting leave to
150 file the action.
151 (7) An automatic stay imposed under this section remains in
152 effect until the court:
153 (a) In its discretion, vacates the stay;
154 (b) Rules, as applicable, on the motion for an order to
155 post security under paragraph (3)(d) or the motion for leave
156 under subsection (5); or
157 (c) Dismisses the action under subsection (5).
158 (8)(7) The relief provided under this section is shall be
159 cumulative to any other relief or remedy available to a
160 defendant under the laws of this state or the rules of court and
161 the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, including, but not limited
162 to, the relief provided under s. 57.105.
163 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
164
165 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
166 And the title is amended as follows:
167 Delete everything before the enacting clause
168 and insert:
169 A bill to be entitled
170 An act relating to vexatious litigants; amending s.
171 68.093, F.S.; revising definitions; expanding actions
172 subject to the Florida Vexatious Litigant Law;
173 revising eligibility for designation as a vexatious
174 litigant; revising sanctions and remedies for
175 vexatious litigation; prohibiting clerks of the court
176 from accepting certain filings from a vexatious
177 litigant; specifying the duration of an automatic stay
178 imposed against vexatious litigation; providing an
179 effective date.