Florida Senate - 2009         (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL) SPB 7028
       
       
       
       FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Judiciary
       
       
       
       
       590-01220A-09                                         20097028__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the small claims process; amending
    3         s. 34.041, F.S.; increasing certain fees for filing a
    4         civil action in county court; eliminating the filing
    5         fee for reopening a small claims suit, action, or
    6         proceeding; encouraging the Florida Supreme Court to
    7         adopt uniform forms for use in the small claims
    8         process; encouraging the Florida Supreme Court to
    9         study the feasibility of increasing the current limit
   10         on the amount in controversy in a small claims action;
   11         encouraging the Florida Supreme Court to amend Rule
   12         7.010(b), Florida Small Claims Rules, to provide for
   13         equitable relief; encouraging the Florida Supreme
   14         Court to exclude personal injury protection cases from
   15         the small claims process; providing an effective date.
   16         
   17         WHEREAS, Florida has recognized the need for the efficient
   18  and inexpensive resolution of civil actions of a simple nature
   19  by creating a small claims process, and
   20         WHEREAS, the Florida Small Claims Rules are designed to
   21  foster a simple, efficient, and inexpensive remedy at law for
   22  litigants, and
   23         WHEREAS, a large number of litigants in small claims cases
   24  are not represented by attorneys, and
   25         WHEREAS, some counties make available various and detailed
   26  small claims forms to small claims litigants, while others do
   27  not provide these forms to small claims litigants, and
   28         WHEREAS, the adoption of uniform forms for small claims
   29  cases may promote uniformity in small claims cases throughout
   30  the state, and
   31         WHEREAS, the inclusion of commentary and instructions in
   32  small claims forms, such as the commentary and instructions
   33  included in the Florida Family Law Forms, may enhance a
   34  litigant's ability to navigate through the small claims process
   35  without an attorney, and
   36         WHEREAS, the current small claims amount-in-controversy
   37  limit of $5,000 has not been increased since 1996, and
   38         WHEREAS, increasing the amount-in-controversy limit could
   39  enhance the small claims process by increasing access to courts
   40  for litigants, but could also increase the caseloads of small
   41  claims judges, and
   42         WHEREAS, under the current Florida Small Claims Rules,
   43  county judges presiding over small claims cases are limited to
   44  hearing actions at law, and cannot award equitable relief in a
   45  small claims case, and
   46         WHEREAS, potential litigants may choose not to file certain
   47  cases of a simple nature because a small claims judge is
   48  precluded from awarding remedies of an equitable nature which
   49  may be necessary to make the potential litigant whole, and
   50         WHEREAS, personal injury protection cases are often filed
   51  in county court as small claims cases because personal injury
   52  protection cases typically involve low insurance policy limits
   53  and often fall below the $5,000 amount-in-controversy limit,
   54  although authorized awards of attorney's fees often exceed
   55  $5,000, and
   56         WHEREAS, the complexity of personal injury protection cases
   57  coupled with the length of litigation suggests that these cases
   58  are not amenable to the goal of the small claims process, which
   59  is to efficiently and inexpensively resolve simple disputes, and
   60         WHEREAS, when a small claims litigant initiates activity to
   61  collect on a judgment, he or she may be required to pay a reopen
   62  fee in the amount of $25 or $50, and
   63         WHEREAS, the elimination or alteration of the application
   64  of reopen fees may reduce the workload of clerks in determining
   65  whether a reopen fee is necessary and curb frustration of small
   66  claims litigants upon learning that an additional fee is
   67  required in a case that the litigant perceives as pending, and
   68         WHEREAS, the Florida Senate studied the Florida small
   69  claims process and identified potential enhancements, which are
   70  reported in Interim Report 2009-121, NOW, THEREFORE,
   71         
   72  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   73         
   74         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 34.041,
   75  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   76         34.041 Filing fees.—
   77         (1)(a) Upon the institution of any civil action, suit, or
   78  proceeding in county court, the party shall pay the following
   79  filing fee, not to exceed:
   80         1. For all claims less than $100.................$51 $50.
   81         2. For all claims of $100 or more but not more than $500.
   82         .................................................$76 $75.
   83         3. For all claims of more than $500 but not more than
   84  $2,500................................................$171 $170.
   85         4. For all claims of more than $2,500 but not more than
   86  $5,000................................................$296 $295.
   87         5.For all claims of more than $5,000...............$295.
   88         6.5. In addition, for all proceedings of garnishment,
   89  attachment, replevin, and distress..........................$85.
   90         7.6. For removal of tenant action...................$265.
   91         (b) The first $80 of the filing fee collected under
   92  subparagraph (a)4. and the first $80 of the filing fee collected
   93  under subparagraph (a)5. shall be remitted to the Department of
   94  Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund. The next $15
   95  of the filing fee collected under subparagraph (a)4., the next
   96  $15 of the filing fee collected under subparagraph (a)5., and
   97  the first $15 of the each filing fee collected under
   98  subparagraph (a)7. (a)6., shall be deposited in the state
   99  courts' Mediation and Arbitration Trust Fund. One-third of any
  100  filing fees collected by the clerk under this section in excess
  101  of the first $95 collected under subparagraph (a)4. and one
  102  third of any filing fees collected by the clerk under this
  103  section in excess of the first $95 collected under subparagraph
  104  (a)5. shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit
  105  into the Department of Revenue Clerks of the Court Trust Fund.
  106  An additional filing fee of $4 shall be paid to the clerk. The
  107  clerk shall transfer $3.50 to the Department of Revenue for
  108  deposit into the Court Education Trust Fund and shall transfer
  109  50 cents to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the
  110  Department of Financial Services' Administrative Trust Fund to
  111  fund clerk education. Postal charges incurred by the clerk of
  112  the county court in making service by mail on defendants or
  113  other parties shall be paid by the party at whose instance
  114  service is made. Except as provided herein, filing fees and
  115  service charges for performing duties of the clerk relating to
  116  the county court shall be as provided in ss. 28.24 and 28.241.
  117  Except as otherwise provided herein, all filing fees shall be
  118  retained as fee income of the office of the clerk of circuit
  119  court. Filing fees imposed by this section may not be added to
  120  any penalty imposed by chapter 316 or chapter 318.
  121         (c) Any party other than a party described in paragraph (a)
  122  who files a pleading in an original civil action in the county
  123  court for affirmative relief by cross-claim, counterclaim, or
  124  third-party complaint, or who files a notice of cross-appeal or
  125  notice of joinder or motion to intervene as an appellant, cross
  126  appellant, or petitioner, shall pay the clerk of court a fee of
  127  $296 $295 if the relief sought by the party under this paragraph
  128  exceeds $2,500 but does not exceed $5,000. The party shall pay
  129  the clerk of court a fee of $295 if the relief sought by the
  130  party under this paragraph exceeds $5,000. This fee does shall
  131  not apply where the cross-claim, counterclaim, or third-party
  132  complaint requires transfer of the case from county to circuit
  133  court. The clerk shall remit the fee to the Department of
  134  Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.
  135         (d) The clerk of court shall collect a service charge of
  136  $10 for issuing a summons. The clerk shall assess the fee
  137  against the party seeking to have the summons issued.
  138         (2) A party reopening any civil action, suit, or proceeding
  139  in the county court shall pay to the clerk of court a filing fee
  140  set by the clerk in an amount not to exceed $25 for all claims
  141  of not more than $500 and an amount not to exceed $50 for all
  142  claims of more than $5,000 $500. For purposes of this section, a
  143  case is reopened when a case previously reported as disposed of
  144  is resubmitted to a court. A party is exempt from paying the fee
  145  for any of the following:
  146         (a) A writ of garnishment;
  147         (b) A writ of replevin;
  148         (c) A distress writ;
  149         (d) A writ of attachment;
  150         (e) A motion for rehearing filed within 10 days;
  151         (f) A motion for attorney's fees filed within 30 days after
  152  of the entry of the judgment or final order;
  153         (g) A motion for dismissal filed after a mediation
  154  agreement has been filed;
  155         (h) A motion to withdraw by attorneys;
  156         (i) Stipulations; or
  157         (j) Responsive pleadings.
  158         Section 2. (1)The Legislature encourages the Florida
  159  Supreme Court, in consultation and cooperation with The Florida
  160  Bar Committee on Small Claims Rules, county court judges, and
  161  other practitioners, to adopt uniform small claims forms along
  162  with commentary and instructions, such as the commentary and
  163  instructions provided in the Florida Family Law Forms, to
  164  simplify the process of litigation in small claims matters for
  165  litigants who proceed without an attorney.
  166         (2)The Legislature encourages the Florida Supreme Court,
  167  in consultation and cooperation with The Florida Bar Committee
  168  on Small Claims Rules, county court judges, and other
  169  practitioners, to study the advantages and disadvantages of and
  170  to consider increasing the current small claims amount-in
  171  controversy limit of $5,000.
  172         (3)The Legislature encourages the Florida Supreme Court,
  173  in consultation and cooperation with The Florida Bar Committee
  174  on Small Claims Rules, county court judges, and other
  175  practitioners, to amend Rule 7.010(b), Florida Small Claims
  176  Rules, to allow small claims judges to hear equitable matters in
  177  addition to actions at law.
  178         (4)The Legislature encourages the Florida Supreme Court,
  179  in consultation and cooperation with The Florida Bar Committee
  180  on Small Claims Rules, county court judges, and other
  181  practitioners, to amend the Florida Small Claims Rules to
  182  exclude personal injury protection cases from the small claims
  183  process.
  184         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.