The Florida Supreme Court recently held that case jurisdiction (i.e., “a trial court’s power to act in a case given its procedural posture”) may be waived if a party fails to timely raise the issue in its pleadings. In JJJTB, Inc. v. Schmidt, 415 So. 3d 129 (Fla. 2025), the trial court entered a final order denying judgment in the plaintiff’s favor. But over two years later, the plaintiff added a new cause of action based on separate defaults. Instead of timely raising lack of case jurisdiction as an affirmative defense, the defendant proceeded with litigating the case, raising the issue for the first time several months later after a final judgment was entered against the defendant. The Supreme Court acknowledged the split between the Second and Fourth District Courts of Appeal (“DCA”), approving the Fourth DCA’s holding that case jurisdiction is waivable when not timely raised. For more information, read the full opinion at: Click here for case details