Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 1650
By the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice;
the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Grall and Yarborough
604-03481-25 20251650c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to vexatious litigants; amending s.
3 68.093, F.S.; revising definitions; expanding actions
4 subject to the Florida Vexatious Litigant Law;
5 revising eligibility for designation as a vexatious
6 litigant; revising sanctions and remedies for
7 vexatious litigation; prohibiting clerks of the court
8 from accepting certain filings from a vexatious
9 litigant; specifying the duration of an automatic stay
10 imposed against vexatious litigation; providing an
11 effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Present subsection (7) of section 68.093,
16 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8) and amended,
17 a new subsection (7) is added to that section, and subsections
18 (2) through (5) of that section are amended, to read:
19 68.093 Florida Vexatious Litigant Law.—
20 (2) As used in this section, the term:
21 (a) “Action” means an a civil action:
22 1. Governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, rule
23 5.025 of and proceedings governed by the Florida Probate Rules,
24 or the Florida Small Claims Rules, but does not include actions
25 concerning family law matters governed by the Florida Family Law
26 Rules of Procedure; or
27 2. In another state court or federal court governed by
28 rules of procedure comparable to the rules of procedure
29 specified in subparagraph 1. or any action in which the Florida
30 Small Claims Rules apply.
31 (b) “Defendant” means any person or entity, including a
32 corporation, association, partnership, firm, or governmental
33 entity, against whom an action is or was commenced or is sought
34 to be commenced.
35 (c) “Security” means an undertaking by a vexatious litigant
36 to ensure payment to a party defendant in an amount reasonably
37 sufficient to cover the party’s defendant’s anticipated,
38 reasonable expenses of litigation, including attorney attorney’s
39 fees and taxable costs.
40 (c)(d) “Vexatious litigant” means a person, as defined in
41 s. 1.01(3), proceeding pro se, who:
42 1. A person as defined in s. 1.01(3) who, In the
43 immediately preceding 7-year 5-year period, has commenced,
44 prosecuted, or maintained, pro se, five or more civil actions in
45 any court which in this state, except an action governed by the
46 Florida Small Claims Rules, which actions have been finally and
47 adversely determined against such person, except an action may
48 not be included for purposes of this subparagraph if the court
49 finds that the action was commenced, prosecuted, or maintained
50 in good faith or entity; or
51 2. After an action has been finally and adversely
52 determined against the person, repeatedly relitigates or
53 attempts to relitigate either:
54 a. The validity of the determination against the same party
55 in an action that was finally determined; or
56 b. The cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the
57 issues of fact or law determined by the final and adverse
58 determination against the same party in an action that was
59 finally determined;
60 3. Repeatedly files pleadings, requests for relief, or
61 other documents that have been the subject of previous rulings
62 by the court in the same action;
63 4. Repeatedly files unmeritorious pleadings, requests for
64 relief, or other documents;
65 5. Repeatedly conducts unnecessary discovery;
66 6. Repeatedly engages in other tactics that are frivolous
67 or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay in any action; or
68 7.2. Has been Any person or entity previously found to be a
69 vexatious litigant pursuant to this section or by another state
70 court or a federal court.
71
72 An action is not deemed to be “finally and adversely determined”
73 if an appeal in that action is pending. If an action has been
74 commenced on behalf of a party by an attorney licensed to
75 practice law in this state, that action is not deemed to be pro
76 se even if the attorney later withdraws from the representation
77 and the party does not retain new counsel.
78 (3)(a) In any action pending in any court of this state,
79 including actions governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules,
80 any party defendant may move the court, upon notice and hearing,
81 for an order requiring an opposing party the plaintiff to
82 furnish security. The motion must shall be based on the grounds,
83 and supported by a showing, that the opposing party subject to
84 the motion plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not
85 reasonably likely to prevail on the merits of the action against
86 the moving party defendant.
87 (b) At the hearing upon any defendant’s motion for an order
88 to post security, the court shall consider any evidence, written
89 or oral, by witness or affidavit, which may be relevant to the
90 consideration of the motion. A No determination made by the
91 court in such a hearing is not shall be admissible on the merits
92 of the action nor or deemed to be a determination of any issue
93 in the action. If, after hearing the evidence, the court
94 determines that the opposing party subject to the motion
95 plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not reasonably likely
96 to prevail on the merits of the action against the moving party
97 defendant, the court must shall order the vexatious litigant
98 plaintiff to furnish security to the moving party defendant in
99 an amount and within such time as the court deems appropriate.
100 (c) If the vexatious litigant plaintiff fails to post
101 security required by an order of the court under this section
102 and the vexatious litigant is:
103 1. A plaintiff or petitioner, the court must shall
104 immediately issue an order dismissing the action with prejudice
105 as to the moving party defendant for whose benefit the security
106 was ordered; or
107 2. A defendant or respondent, the court may immediately
108 issue an order imposing one or more of the following sanctions,
109 as appropriate:
110 a. Denial of the vexatious litigant’s request for relief;
111 b. Striking of the vexatious litigant’s pleading or other
112 document or part thereof; or
113 c. Rendition of a judgment by default against the vexatious
114 litigant.
115 (d) If the a motion for an order to post security is filed
116 before prior to the trial in an action, the action is shall be
117 automatically stayed and the moving party defendant need not
118 plead or otherwise respond to the vexatious litigant’s
119 complaint, pleading, request for relief, or other document until
120 10 days after the motion for an order to post security is
121 denied. If the motion for an order to post security is granted,
122 the moving party must defendant shall respond or plead no later
123 than 10 days after the required security has been furnished.
124 (4) In addition to any other relief provided in this
125 section, the court in any judicial circuit may, on its own
126 motion or on the motion of any party, enter a prefiling order
127 prohibiting a vexatious litigant from commencing, pro se, any
128 new action in the courts of that circuit without first obtaining
129 leave of the court administrative judge of that circuit.
130 Disobedience of such an order may be punished as contempt of
131 court by the administrative judge of that circuit. Leave of
132 court shall be granted by the court administrative judge only
133 upon a showing that the proposed action is meritorious and is
134 not being filed for the purpose of delay or harassment. The
135 court administrative judge may condition the filing of the
136 proposed action upon the furnishing of security as provided in
137 this section.
138 (5) The clerk of the court may shall not file any new
139 action by a pro se vexatious litigant against whom a prefiling
140 order has been entered pro se unless the vexatious litigant has
141 obtained an order from the court allowing administrative judge
142 permitting such filing. If the clerk of the court mistakenly
143 allows a pro se permits a vexatious litigant to file any new an
144 action pro se in contravention of a prefiling order, any party
145 to that action may file with the clerk and serve on the
146 vexatious litigant plaintiff and all other parties defendants a
147 notice stating that the plaintiff is a pro se vexatious litigant
148 is subject to a prefiling order. The filing of such a notice
149 shall automatically stays stay the litigation against all
150 parties defendants to the action. The court administrative judge
151 shall automatically dismiss the action with prejudice within 10
152 days after the filing of such notice unless the vexatious
153 litigant plaintiff files a motion for leave to file the new
154 action. If the court administrative judge issues an order
155 granting leave, the pleadings or other responses permitting the
156 action to be filed, the defendants need not plead or otherwise
157 respond to the complaint need not be filed until 10 days after
158 the date of service by the vexatious litigant plaintiff, by
159 United States mail, of a copy of the order granting leave to
160 file the action.
161 (7) An automatic stay imposed under this section remains in
162 effect until the court:
163 (a) In its discretion, vacates the stay;
164 (b) Rules, as applicable, on the motion for an order to
165 post security under paragraph (3)(d) or the motion for leave
166 under subsection (5); or
167 (c) Dismisses the action under subsection (5).
168 (8)(7) The relief provided under this section is shall be
169 cumulative to any other relief or remedy available to a
170 defendant under the laws of this state or the rules of court and
171 the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, including, but not limited
172 to, the relief provided under s. 57.105.
173 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.