In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and Forms 1.902 and 1.938

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida amends Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and Forms 1.902 and 1.938. The amendments address proposals for settlement, summons responses and electronic filing, legal-assistance information, and allegations required in unlawful-detainer, forcible-entry, and unlawful-entry complaints. The amendments become effective January 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m.

Holdings

1. The Court adopted amendments governing proposals for settlement, including service timing, required content, joint proposals, filing, acceptance and rejection, sanctions, costs and fees, admissibility of proposal evidence, and the effect of mediation.
2. The Court amended the summons forms to clarify that a defendant may file a written response through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal or with the clerk, must include an e-mail address for service unless excused, and should be directed to available lawyer-referral and legal-aid resources.
3. The Court amended Form 1.938 to require the plaintiff, when applicable, to provide the property's legal description and address, identify how the defendant obtained possession, state whether the plaintiff owns the property, and explain the plaintiff's entitlement to possession if the plaintiff is not the owner.
4. The amendments to the rules and forms become effective January 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m.; filing a motion for rehearing does not alter that effective date.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the proposed amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 should be adopted.
2. Whether the proposed amendments to Forms 1.902 and 1.938 should be adopted.
3. When the adopted amendments should become effective.

Disposition

other