Florida's Appellate Courts — Decisions as they issueSaturday, September 19, 2026
Legal news and general information — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Read more

Coverage by Practice Area

The latest decision in each area — click a headline to read, or “See all” for the full archive.

Appellate Procedure

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Third DCA upholds a vexatious-litigant order and sanctions against a pro se plaintiff
A trial court may declare a party a vexatious litigant under section 68.093 and impose sanctions under both the statute and its…

Bankruptcy

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A bankrupt company’s Subchapter S tax election isn’t shielded from its owner by the automatic stay, Eleventh Circuit rules
John Owoc — founder of VPX/Bang Energy — wanted to revoke the company's Subchapter S tax status after its Chapter 11 filing.…

Business & Commercial Litigation

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A lease’s forum-selection clause doesn’t reach claims about fees paid before the lease existed, Sixth DCA says
A forum-selection clause buried in an equipment lease governs only suits “commenced hereunder” — so it can’t be used to toss a…

Civil Rights

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Rebekah Jones’ claims over her removal from Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard fail on summary judgment, First DCA affirms
Jones says she was disciplined for refusing to alter COVID-19 infection data and for speaking publicly about her role building the state's…

Consumer Protection

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A hydrogen-water ‘wellness’ company’s reimbursement bait-and-switch violated Florida’s consumer protection law, Fourth DCA rules
The Attorney General wins its appeal against one of three individual owners of Trusii, a company accused of luring customers with a…

Criminal Defense — Federal

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Sentencing a defendant under Guidelines amended after his crime violated the Ex Post Facto Clause, Eleventh Circuit rules
Rodney Brown's 324-month sentence for Hobbs Act robbery and a firearm offense used a 2023 Sentencing Guidelines amendment that didn't exist when…

Criminal Defense — State

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No “depraved mind”: First DCA reduces a second-degree murder conviction to manslaughter
An impulsive overreaction during a sudden, volatile domestic crisis is not the “ill will, hatred, spite, or evil intent” that second-degree murder…
Pointing out a DUI defendant’s refusal to take field tests isn’t burden-shifting, Fourth DCA rules
Telling a jury that a defendant's refusal to perform roadside exercises or a breath test shows ‘consciousness of guilt’ doesn't improperly shift…

Employment Law

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A port security guard doesn’t automatically dodge arbitration under the transportation-worker exemption, First DCA rules
Phillip Miller argued his job securing a port meant his employment discrimination claim couldn't be forced into arbitration. The First District affirms…

Estate Planning & Probate

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Out-of-state friends of a decedent can’t be dragged into a Florida undue-influence fight without Florida contacts, First DCA rules
A decedent's sister tried to add his Wisconsin friends as defendants in a long-running Escambia County probate case, alleging they influenced him…

Family Law

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Giving a spouse sole authority to hire a realtor isn’t ‘possession’ of the house, Sixth DCA rules
A family court order letting a wife pick the realtor for the marital home, without her husband's signature, doesn't hand her immediate…

Foreclosure Defense

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A lost note with a blank endorsement still needs proof of standing to foreclose, Sixth DCA rules
U.S. Bank won summary judgment foreclosing on an Orange County property using a lost promissory note. The Sixth District reverses, finding a…

HOA & Condo Law

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A condo association that skips an argument on the first appeal can’t raise it on the second, Fourth DCA rules
Boca View Condominium Association waited until a second appeal to challenge how the trial court calculated prejudgment interest on a fee award…

Immigration Law

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Florida’s robbery-by-sudden-snatching conviction is an ‘aggravated felony’ that blocks cancellation of removal, Eleventh Circuit rules
Rishi Ramdial argued his Florida robbery conviction was too minor to count as a deportable theft offense. The Eleventh Circuit denies his…

Insurance & Bad Faith

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FIGA doesn’t have to pay a $20,000 attorney-fee piece of a pre-insolvency settlement, Second DCA rules
When an insurer goes insolvent and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association steps into its shoes, FIGA is not on the hook for…

Landlord-Tenant

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Excluding a tenant’s expert testimony was reversible error in a ceiling-collapse injury case, Second DCA rules
A Pinellas County tenant hurt when her kitchen ceiling collapsed after a leak gets a new trial after the Second District finds…

Medical Malpractice

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Whether a birth-injury claim belongs before NICA or a jury has to be decided first, Third DCA rules
Mount Sinai Medical Center partially wins a fight over whether an administrative law judge must first decide if a baby's neurological injury…

Personal Injury

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A resort owes no duty to warn a barefoot guest that a pool deck is hot in the summer sun, Third DCA holds
A hot cement pool deck and beach sand under a 95-degree Florida sky is an open and obvious condition, and a premises…

Real Estate & Property

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A 2018 permit denial can’t revive a development plan the state barred back in 1973, First DCA rules
Key Haven waited 45 years to challenge the state's halt on its Florida Keys dredge-and-fill project, then sued when a new permit…

Workers Compensation

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A workplace brain injury can make a family’s guardianship costs compensable too, First DCA rules
After her son suffered a compensable traumatic brain injury on a lawn-care job, Kimberly Fish sought reimbursement for the guardianship she needed…