Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 328
Ì928418?Î928418
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Judiciary (Brandes) recommended the following:
1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (977268) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete lines 357 - 398
5 and insert:
6 Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 34.01, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 34.01 Jurisdiction of county court.—
9 (1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:
10 (a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit
11 courts.;
12 (b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances.;
13 (c)1. Of all actions at law filed on or before December 31,
14 2019, in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum
15 of $15,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney
16 attorney’s fees, except those within the exclusive jurisdiction
17 of the circuit courts.; and
18 2. Of all actions at law filed on or after January 1, 2020,
19 in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum of
20 $30,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees,
21 except:
22 a. Actions within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit
23 courts; and
24 b. Actions relating to damages or losses covered by an
25 insurance policy, including coverage disputes, in which the
26 matter in controversy exceeds the sum of $25,000, exclusive of
27 interest, costs, and attorney fees.
28 3. Of all actions at law filed on or after January 1, 2022,
29 in which the matter in controversy does not exceed the sum of
30 $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees,
31 except:
32 a. Actions within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit
33 courts; and
34 b. Actions relating to damages or losses covered by an
35 insurance policy, including coverage disputes, in which the
36 matter in controversy exceeds the sum of $25,000, exclusive of
37 interest, costs, and attorney fees.
38
39 The limits in subparagraph 3. must be adjusted every 10 years
40 after January 1, 2022, to reflect the rate of inflation or
41 deflation as indicated in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
42 Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as
43 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of
44 Labor Statistics, or its successor. Such adjustments must be
45 rounded to the nearest $5,000.
46 (d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations
47 as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with
48 jurisdiction of the circuit courts.
49
50 By March 1, 2021, the State Courts Administrator shall make
51 recommendations regarding the adjustment of county court
52 jurisdiction to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
53 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The recommendation
54 must include an analysis of workflow, timely access to court by
55 litigants, and any resulting fiscal impact to the state as a
56 result of adjusted jurisdictional limits.
57 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 28.241, Florida
58 Statutes, is amended to read:
59 28.241 Filing fees for trial and appellate proceedings.—
60 (2)(a) Upon the institution of any appellate proceeding
61 from any lower court to the circuit court of any such county,
62 including appeals filed by a county or municipality as provided
63 in s. 34.041(5), or from the circuit court to an appellate court
64 of the state, the clerk shall charge and collect from the party
65 or parties instituting such appellate proceedings:
66 1. A filing fee not to exceed $280 for filing a notice of
67 appeal from the county court to the circuit court, excluding a
68 civil case where the matter in controversy was more than
69 $15,000. and,
70 2. A filing fee not to exceed $400 for filing a notice of
71 appeal from the county court to the circuit court for a civil
72 case where the matter in controversy was more than $15,000. The
73 clerk shall remit $250 of each filing fee collected under this
74 subparagraph to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
75 General Revenue Fund, and the clerk shall remit $50 of each
76 filing fee to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
77 State Courts Revenue Trust Fund to fund court operations as
78 authorized in the General Appropriations Act. The clerk shall
79 retain an accounting of each such remittance.
80 3. In addition to the filing fee required under s. 25.241
81 or s. 35.22, $100 for filing a notice of appeal from the circuit
82 court to the district court of appeal or to the Supreme Court.
83 (b) If the party is determined to be indigent, the clerk
84 shall defer payment of the fee required by this subsection.
85 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 34.041, Florida
86 Statutes, is amended to read:
87 34.041 Filing fees.—
88 (1)(a) Filing fees are due at the time a party files a
89 pleading to initiate a proceeding or files a pleading for
90 relief. Reopen fees are due at the time a party files a pleading
91 to reopen a proceeding if at least 90 days have elapsed since
92 the filing of a final order or final judgment with the clerk. If
93 a fee is not paid upon the filing of the pleading as required
94 under this section, the clerk shall pursue collection of the fee
95 pursuant to s. 28.246. Upon the institution of any civil action,
96 suit, or proceeding in county court, the party shall pay the
97 following filing fee, not to exceed:
98 1. For all claims less than $100.....................$50.
99 2. For all claims of $100 or more but not more than
100 $500........................................................$75.
101 3. For all claims of more than $500 but not more than
102 $2,500.....................................................$170.
103 4. For all claims of more than $2,500 but not more than
104 $15,000....................................................$295.
105 5. For all claims more than $15,000.................$395.
106 6.5. In addition, for all proceedings of garnishment,
107 attachment, replevin, and distress..........................$85.
108 7.6. Notwithstanding subparagraphs 3. and 6.5., for all
109 claims of not more than $1,000 filed simultaneously with an
110 action for replevin of property that is the subject of the
111 claim......................................................$125.
112 8.7. For removal of tenant action...................$180.
113
114 The filing fee in subparagraph 7.6. is the total fee due under
115 this paragraph for that type of filing, and no other filing fee
116 under this paragraph may be assessed against such a filing.
117 (b) The first $15 of the filing fee collected under
118 subparagraph (a)4. and the first $10 of the filing fee collected
119 under subparagraph (a)8.(a)7. shall be deposited in the State
120 Courts Revenue Trust Fund. By the 10th day of each month, the
121 clerk shall submit that portion of the fees collected in the
122 previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the clerk’s
123 total budget for the performance of court-related functions to
124 the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Clerks of the
125 Court Trust Fund. An additional filing fee of $4 shall be paid
126 to the clerk. The clerk shall transfer $3.50 to the Department
127 of Revenue for deposit into the Court Education Trust Fund and
128 shall transfer 50 cents to the Department of Revenue for deposit
129 into the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of
130 Financial Services to fund clerk education provided by the
131 Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. Postal charges
132 incurred by the clerk of the county court in making service by
133 mail on defendants or other parties shall be paid by the party
134 at whose instance service is made. Except as provided in this
135 section, filing fees and service charges for performing duties
136 of the clerk relating to the county court shall be as provided
137 in ss. 28.24 and 28.241. Except as otherwise provided in this
138 section, all filing fees shall be retained as fee income of the
139 office of the clerk of the circuit court. Filing fees imposed by
140 this section may not be added to any penalty imposed by chapter
141 316 or chapter 318.
142 (c) A party in addition to a party described in paragraph
143 (a) who files a pleading in an original civil action in the
144 county court for affirmative relief by cross-claim,
145 counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint, or who
146 files a notice of cross-appeal or notice of joinder or motion to
147 intervene as an appellant, cross-appellant, or petitioner, shall
148 pay the clerk of court a fee of $295 if the relief sought by the
149 party under this paragraph exceeds $2,500. The clerk shall remit
150 the fee to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
151 General Revenue Fund. This fee does not apply if the cross
152 claim, counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint
153 requires transfer of the case from county to circuit court.
154 However, the party shall pay to the clerk the standard filing
155 fee for the court to which the case is to be transferred.
156 (d) The clerk of court shall collect a service charge of
157 $10 for issuing a summons or an electronic certified copy of a
158 summons. The clerk shall assess the fee against the party
159 seeking to have the summons issued.
160 (e) Of the first $200 in filing fees payable under
161 subparagraph (a)5., $195 must be remitted to the Department of
162 Revenue for deposit into the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund, $4
163 must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into
164 the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial
165 Services and used to fund the contract with the Florida Clerks
166 of Court Operations Corporation created in s. 28.35, and $1 must
167 be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
168 Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial
169 Services to fund audits of individual clerks’ court-related
170 expenditures conducted by the Department of Financial Services.
171 By the 10th day of each month, the clerk shall submit that
172 portion of the filing fees collected pursuant to this subsection
173 in the previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the
174 clerk’s total budget to the Department of Revenue for deposit
175 into the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund.
176
177 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
178 And the title is amended as follows:
179 Delete line 46
180 and insert:
181 Legislature by a specified date; amending s. 28.241,
182 F.S.; adjusting filing fees for appeals of certain
183 county court cases; amending s. 34.041, F.S.;
184 adjusting county court civil filing fees based on
185 claim values; providing for distribution of the fees;
186 amending s. 44.108,