New Jurisdictional Limits
for Florida’s Courts in 2020
Florida’s trial court system is divided into two tiers, county courts and circuit courts. Each County also has a small claims court, which is technically part of the county court. To be able to grant relief, courts must first have jurisdiction, which is the authority to act. The jurisdiction of Florida courts are defined by constitution and statue. Fla. Const., Art. V, § 1. Ordinarily, the amount in controversy, which is the amount of damages (i.e., money) the plaintiff seeks from the defendant, will determine whether the case is filed in small claims court, county court, or circuit court.
Each of these courts has a jurisdictional limit, which means they can only hear cases that seek damages (i.e. money) within those limits. See Diamond v. Elvis Towing, Inc., 268 So. 3d 249, 250 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019) (Jurisdiction “depends not upon the amount of damages which is actually recoverable as a matter of law, but rather by the sum in good faith demanded or actually put in controversy.”); Soler v. Indep. Fire Ins. Co., 625 So. 2d 905, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (“The test to determine the jurisdiction of the court ‘is the amount in good faith claimed or put in controversy when the action is commenced.’”).
“Subject matter jurisdiction cannot be enlarged sua sponte by the courts.” Fla. Civ. Prac., Jurisdiction, CIVPRAC FL-CLE 6-1 (2017). In addition, since “[i]t is conferred … by a constitution or a statute, subject matter jurisdiction cannot be created by waiver, acquiescence or agreement of the parties.” Chapoteau v. Chapoteau, 659 So. 2d 1381, 1384 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). “The most common basis for dismissing an action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is that the amount in controversy either does not meet (in circuit court) or exceeds (in county court) the jurisdictional limits of the court in which the action was brought.” CIVPRAC FL-CLE 6-1.
Since 1992, the jurisdictional limits of Florida’s courts had remained unchanged. Claims up to $5,000 were filed in small claims court, claims greater than $5,000 and less than $15,000 were filed in county court, and claims for $15,000 or more were filed in circuit court. Apparently, in some Florida County’s, the case loads of the county court has significantly declined since 1992. These county court’s did not have enough cases to justify their continued existence. In late 2019, the Florida legislature addressed this concern by amending Fla. Stat. § 34.01, changing where a variety of court actions are heard.
The amendments, increasing the jurisdictional limits of Florida’s courts, went into effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the new jurisdictional threshold for small claims cases will increase to $8,000 on January 1, 2020. The new jurisdictional threshold for county courts increases to $30,000 or less on January 1, 2020, and is set to increase to $50,000 or less on January 1, 2023. Finally, the new jurisdictional threshold for circuit courts will increase to $30,000 or more on January 1, 2020, and is set to increase to $50,000 or more on January 1, 2023.
The change to the jurisdictional limits should result in more cases being filed in county court rather than circuit court. Lawmakers hope that a greater division between the two will lead to faster resolution of case by both courts. Also beginning on January 1, 2020, plaintiff’s will be required to include a civil cover sheet upon filing a lawsuit, which specifies the dollar amount in dispute in cases exceeding $8,000 in value. The cover sheets will allow court administrators to track the changes and report the impact to Florida’s lawmakers.
