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Fourth District Requires Strict Compliance With Arbitration Statute, Receding From Precedent

Under section 44.103(5), Fla. Stat. (2021), “An arbitration decision shall be final if a request for trial de novo is not filed within” 20 days as required by Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.820(h). Since 2006, when the Fourth District decided Nicholson-Kenny Cap. Mgmt., Inc. v. Steinberg, 932 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), it has not required a party to file a motion for trial de novo as long as there is “some notice” of their intent to reject an arbitration award and demand a trial. In Lawnwood Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Rouse, No. 4D2022-2637 (Fla. 4th DCA July 3, 2024), the Fourth District (en banc) receded from Nicholson-Kenny, finding that it conflicted with the plain language of section 44.103(5) and rule 1.820(h). The Court also ruled that motions for trial de novo with mere scrivener’s errors should not be rejected and that relief from a missed deadline was still available under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.540(b). The Court certified conflict with two Second District decisions applying Nicholson-Kenny and noted that its decision was consistent with the First District’s approach. Thus, in the Fourth and First Districts, strict compliance with section 44.103(5) and rule 1.820(h) is required, but in the Second DCA it is not.

Considerations in application to our client’s review of similarly situated scenarios include:

  • If the client is requesting trial de novo, a motion for trial de novo must be filed within twenty days in the First and Fourth District’s jurisdiction or it will not be granted.
  • If the client misses the 20-day deadline, it may obtain relief by filing a motion for relief from judgment under rule 1.540(b).
  • If the opposing party files an untimely motion for trial de novo, it should be opposed in all jurisdictions.

View the opinion here.

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