Background
The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules Committee proposed amending Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.400, which governs costs and attorneys’ fees. The Florida Supreme Court published the proposed amendment and received no comments.
Subdivision (b)(4) previously addressed the deadline for serving an attorneys’ fee motion when an appellate court rendered an order of dismissal before the otherwise applicable deadline expired. In that circumstance, the motion was due within seven days after rendition of the dismissal order.
The Court’s Holding
The Florida Supreme Court adopted the Committee’s proposed amendment to Rule 9.400. The revised language applies when a court “issues a disposition,” replacing the rule’s narrower reference to rendering an “order of dismissal.”
Under amended subdivision (b)(4), if the court issues a disposition before the otherwise applicable fee-motion deadline expires, the motion must be served no later than seven days after issuance of that disposition. The amendment takes effect January 1, 2027, at 12:01 a.m., and a motion for rehearing will not alter that effective date.
Key Takeaways
- Rule 9.400(b)(4) will apply to an appellate court’s issuance of a disposition, rather than only to an order of dismissal.
- The deadline remains seven days, measured under the amended rule from issuance of the disposition.
- The amendment becomes effective January 1, 2027, at 12:01 a.m.
Why It Matters
The amendment broadens the text governing shortened attorneys’ fee-motion deadlines beyond proceedings ending in dismissal. Appellate practitioners should track the issuance of any disposition that occurs before the ordinary fee-motion deadline and serve a fee motion within seven days when amended Rule 9.400(b)(4) applies.