2.3 Discovery Rules and Summary Judgment

2.3 Discovery Rules and Summary Judgment

Discovery and summary judgment are the primary tools used by litigants to uncover evidence and resolve cases before trial. Florida's discovery rules contain strict numerical limits designed to prevent abuse, while its summary judgment standard has undergone a major recent shift to align with federal practice.

Discovery Methods and Florida-Specific Limits

Florida law allows broad discovery of any non-privileged matter that is relevant to the subject matter of the pending action. The information sought need not be admissible at trial if it appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

Interrogatories

Interrogatories are written questions served on a party to the lawsuit. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.340, a party may serve on any other party a maximum of 30 written interrogatories, including all subparts. This is a critical distinction from the federal rules, which limit parties to 25 interrogatories. The court may permit a party to serve additional interrogatories upon a showing of good cause, or the parties may stipulate to more. The responding party must serve answers and objections within 30 days after service of the interrogatories (or 45 days if a defendant is responding to interrogatories served with the complaint).

Requests for Admission

Requests for admission are written requests asking a party to admit the truth of any discoverable matters. Under Rule 1.370, a party may serve on any other party a maximum of 30 requests for admission, including subparts (contrast this with federal rules, which have no default limit). As with interrogatories, the court may allow more for good cause. The responding party must respond within 30 days (or 45 days if a defendant is responding to requests served with the complaint). If a party fails to timely respond, the matters are deemed admitted.

Depositions

Depositions allow for oral examination of witnesses under oath.

• Parties: A party can depose another party by serving a notice of deposition. No subpoena is required.
• Non-Parties: To depose a non-party witness, the deposing party must serve a subpoena. If the non-party is required to produce documents, a subpoena duces tecum must be served.
• Location: A plaintiff may generally be deposed in the county where the action was filed. A defendant is usually deposed in the county of their residence or principal place of business. A non-party witness should be deposed in the county where they reside or do business.
• Time Limit: Unlike federal rules, which limit a deposition to one day of seven hours, Florida does not impose a strict time limit on depositions, though they remain subject to the court's power to issue protective orders to prevent harassment or abuse.

Physical and Mental Examinations

Under Rule 1.360, when the physical or mental condition of a party is in controversy, any other party may request that they submit to an examination by a qualified expert.

• Physical Exam: If the condition in controversy is physical, a party can request the exam on notice. The party to be examined must respond within 30 days.
• Mental or Non-Physical Exam: If the condition is mental or otherwise non-physical, the exam can only be obtained by filing a motion and showing good cause.

Summary Judgment: The Celotex Standard

Florida's summary judgment standard underwent a historic transformation. Effective May 1, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court amended Rule 1.510 to adopt the federal summary judgment standard, commonly known as the Celotex standard.

The Standard

Under the current rule, a court must grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The Shift in Burden

The adoption of the federal standard significantly raised the threshold for surviving summary judgment in Florida:

• Old Florida Standard: The moving party had the near-impossible burden of disproving the non-moving party's case entirely. If there was even the "slightest doubt" or a "scintilla of evidence" supporting the non-movant, summary judgment had to be denied.
• New Celotex Standard: The summary judgment burden now mirrors the burden of proof at trial. If the non-moving party bears the burden of proof on an issue at trial, the moving party can obtain summary judgment simply by pointing out that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party's case. The non-moving party must then come forward with specific, admissible evidence showing that a genuine issue of material fact exists. A mere "scintilla of evidence" is no longer enough to survive the motion.

Strict Timelines

The summary judgment process in Florida operates on strict deadlines that are frequently tested:

• The Motion: The moving party must file and serve the motion for summary judgment at least 40 days before the hearing set on the motion.
• The Response: The non-moving party must file and serve their response, including any supporting factual evidence, at least 20 days before the hearing.

Discovery Sanctions and Frivolous Litigation

Courts possess broad authority to penalize parties who abuse the discovery process or file frivolous claims.

Motion for Sanctions (Rule 1.380)

If a party fails to comply with discovery requests or violates a court order compelling discovery, the court may impose various sanctions. These include: (1) entering an order that certain facts are established; (2) prohibiting the disobedient party from introducing evidence; (3) striking pleadings in whole or in part; (4) dismissing the action or entering a default judgment; or (5) holding the party in contempt of court (except for failure to submit to a physical or mental exam).

Mediation Sanctions (Rule 1.730)

If a party fails to appear at a court-ordered mediation conference without good cause, the court must impose sanctions, which can include awarding attorney's fees and mediator costs to the appearing party.

Frivolous Litigation (Fla. Stat. § 57.105)

Under Section 57.105, a court may award attorney's fees to the prevailing party if it finds that the losing party or their attorney knew or should have known that a claim or defense was not supported by material facts or was not supported by the application of then-existing law to those facts.

• Safe Harbor Rule: A party seeking sanctions under § 57.105 must serve the motion on the opposing party but cannot file it with the court for 21 days. This "safe harbor" gives the offending party 21 days to withdraw or correct the frivolous pleading without penalty.