Coverage by Practice Area
The latest decision in each area — click a headline to read, or “See all” for the full archive.
Appellate Procedure
See all →
Must a Properly Executed Campaign Account Check Be Signed by the Treasurer, Not the Candidate? Yes, Third DCA Held
In Medina v. Timothe, the Third DCA affirmed disqualification of a North Miami council candidate who personally signed his own qualifying-fee check…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Attorney's Fees
See all →
Does the Lower Section 57.105(1) Standard Apply to Fee Sanctions in a Domestic Violence Injunction Case? No, the Fourth DCA Held
In Fitzpatrick v. Fitzpatrick, the Fourth DCA held a court may only consider fee-sanction motions in a dismissed domestic violence injunction case…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Bankruptcy
See all →
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.…
Read more →
Aug 10, 2026
Bar Discipline
See all →
Can a lawyer be disciplined for a false statement to a court without proof he knew it was false? Not under rule 4-3.3(a)(1), the Florida Supreme Court says
The Florida Supreme Court approved a referee's finding that The Florida Bar did not prove Omar Medina, Jr. knowingly made false statements…
Read more →
Nov 1, 2026
Business & Commercial Litigation
See all →
Can a Trial Court Award Unliquidated Damages Against a Defaulted Defendant Without a Trial? No, the Fourth DCA Held
In First Care Therapy v. Congress Ave Boynton, the Fourth DCA affirmed a landlord's default judgment on liability but reversed the damages…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Civil Rights
See all →
Does Florida’s Veterans’ Preference in Promotion Law Cover a Hybrid Promotion Process? Yes, the Second DCA Held
In Lamb v. City of Tampa, the Second DCA held that Florida's veterans' preference in promotion statute required the City to promote…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Consumer Protection
See all →
Does a Broad Arbitration Clause Cover a General Negligence Claim Without a Contractual Nexus? No, the Fourth DCA Held
In Boberg v. Ox of South Florida, the Fourth DCA reversed an order compelling arbitration of a pool-deck slip-and-fall negligence claim for…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Court Rules
See all →
Can a Probate Court Remove a Pro Se Personal Representative for Defying an Order to Hire a Lawyer? Yes, the Third DCA Held
In Friedman v. In Re: Estate of Bonny L. Wax, the Third DCA affirmed removing a pro se personal representative and trustee…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Criminal Defense — Federal
See all →
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…
Read more →
Sep 9, 2026
Criminal Defense — State
See all →
Can a Domestic Violence Injunction Rest on Incidents Not in the Petition? No, the Sixth DCA Held, and Reversed
In Bayouth v. Reguero-Bayouth, the Sixth DCA reversed a five-year domestic violence injunction because the trial court relied on incidents not pled…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Downward Departure
See all →
A Judge Who Rejects a Downward Departure Doesn’t Have to Explain Why on the Record, First DCA Rules
Weber v. State · No. 1D2025-1427 (Fla. 1st DCA) · Decided September 30, 2026 More analysis may follow as additional information is…
Read more →
Oct 11, 2026
DUI
See all →
Can a court deny a pro se plea challenge without letting the defendant amend it? Not on most claims, the Second DCA says
The Second DCA affirmed denial of two claims in Tracz's pro se postconviction motion but reversed the rest, so she can try…
Read more →
Nov 1, 2026
Employment Law
See all →
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…
Read more →
Jul 8, 2026
Estate Planning & Probate
See all →
Can a Probate Court Remove a Pro Se Personal Representative for Defying an Order to Hire a Lawyer? Yes, the Third DCA Held
In Friedman v. In Re: Estate of Bonny L. Wax, the Third DCA affirmed removing a pro se personal representative and trustee…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Family Law
See all →
Can Parental Rights Be Terminated for Failing a Reunification Case Plan Before Its Goal Was Reunification? No, the Fourth DCA Held
In M.S. v. Department of Children and Families, the Fourth DCA reversed termination of parental rights based on a reunification case plan…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Foreclosure Defense
See all →
Does a bank’s payment mix-up excuse a homeowner who stopped paying? No, the Second DCA says in a Hillsborough foreclosure
The Second DCA reversed a Hillsborough judgment denying foreclosure, holding that disputed 2015 payment reversals did not excuse the homeowners' missed payments…
Read more →
Nov 7, 2026
Government & Municipal
See all →
Can Florida Housing Deny Funding After Misreading the RFA’s Dedicated Space Requirement? Yes, the First DCA Held
In BDG Fern Grove Phase Two v. WHFT LL Workforce, the First DCA held Florida Housing wrongly read an unwritten "dedicated space"…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Guardianship
See all →
Florida Supreme Court Amends Probate Rules for Guardianship Forms and Accountings and for Curators
In re Amendments to Florida Probate Rules · Nos. SC2026-0558 and SC2026-1351 (Fla.) · Decided October 15, 2026 More analysis may follow…
Read more →
Oct 15, 2026
HOA & Condo Law
See all →
Does a Temporary Stay Pending Arbitration Support Certiorari in a Condo Defect Case? No, the Third DCA Held
In Urbana at the Residences Condominium No. 3 Association v. White Course Lennar, the Third DCA dismissed a certiorari petition challenging a…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Immigration Law
See all →
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…
Read more →
Aug 21, 2026
Injunctions & Protective Orders
See all →
Can a Florida Appeals Court Review an Untimely Challenge to an Injunction Entered in a Separate Case? No, the Sixth DCA Held
In Wilcoxon v. Wilcoxon, a Sixth DCA panel affirmed a dissolution judgment without comment and dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, an untimely…
Read more →
Nov 11, 2026
Insurance & Bad Faith
See all →
Does an Arbitration Decision Emailed as an Invoice Attachment Count as Valid Service? No, the Second DCA Held
In Koppert v. Homeowners Choice, the Second DCA held that an arbitration decision emailed as an invoice attachment was not properly served,…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Judicial Discipline
See all →
Judge Who Told Parties He Would “Like to Tell the Deputy to Pull His Gun” in Frustration Gets a Public Reprimand, Florida Supreme Court Rules
Inquiry Concerning a Judge, JQC No. 2025-1109, Re: J. Layne Smith · No. SC2026-0476 (Fla.) · Decided September 24, 2026 More analysis…
Read more →
Oct 11, 2026
Landlord-Tenant
See all →
Can a Trial Court Strike a Final Judgment Provision on Its Own Months Later? No, Not for a Perceived Legal Error
In Taplin Falls v. Brown, the Fourth DCA reversed a county court that, on its own, struck a 45-day fee-motion provision from…
Read more →
Nov 11, 2026
Medical Malpractice
See all →
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…
Read more →
Jul 8, 2026
New Filings & Complaints
See all →
Seminole Tribe Sues DraftKings Over Pick6 and Sportsbook Products, Invokes Florida RICO Act Against CEO
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. DraftKings, Inc., Jason Robins, and GUS III LLC · No. CACE-26-016435 (Fla. 17th Cir. Ct., Broward Cnty.)…
Read more →
Oct 9, 2026
Personal Injury
See all →
Can a Res Ipsa Loquitur Instruction Apply When a Passenger Could Have Caused the Driver to Lose Control? No, the Second DCA Held
In Crocker v. Rein, the Second DCA held a res ipsa loquitur instruction was erroneously given in a motorcycle crash case because…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Real Estate & Property
See all →
Can Florida Housing Deny Funding After Misreading the RFA’s Dedicated Space Requirement? Yes, the First DCA Held
In BDG Fern Grove Phase Two v. WHFT LL Workforce, the First DCA held Florida Housing wrongly read an unwritten "dedicated space"…
Read more →
Nov 15, 2026
Workers Compensation
See all →
Maitland Can’t Shift a Retired Firefighter’s Heart-Disease Claim to His Later Employer, First DCA Rules
City of Maitland v. McGovern · No. 1D2025-2729 (Fla. 1st DCA) · Decided October 7, 2026 More analysis may follow as additional…
Read more →
Oct 8, 2026