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Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 1650 By the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Grall and Yarborough 604-03481-25 20251650c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to vexatious litigants; amending s. 3 68.093, F.S.; revising definitions; expanding actions 4 subject to the Florida Vexatious Litigant Law; 5 revising eligibility for designation as a vexatious 6 litigant; revising sanctions and remedies for 7 vexatious litigation; prohibiting clerks of the court 8 from accepting certain filings from a vexatious 9 litigant; specifying the duration of an automatic stay 10 imposed against vexatious litigation; providing an 11 effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1.Present subsection (7) of section 68.093, 16 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8) and amended, 17 a new subsection (7) is added to that section, and subsections 18 (2) through (5) of that section are amended, to read: 19 68.093Florida Vexatious Litigant Law. 20 (2)As used in this section, the term: 21 (a)Action means an a civil action: 22 1.Governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 23 5.025 of and proceedings governed by the Florida Probate Rules, 24 or the Florida Small Claims Rules, but does not include actions 25 concerning family law matters governed by the Florida Family Law 26 Rules of Procedure; or 27 2.In another state court or federal court governed by 28 rules of procedure comparable to the rules of procedure 29 specified in subparagraph 1. or any action in which the Florida 30 Small Claims Rules apply. 31 (b)Defendant means any person or entity, including a 32 corporation, association, partnership, firm, or governmental 33 entity, against whom an action is or was commenced or is sought 34 to be commenced. 35 (c)Security means an undertaking by a vexatious litigant 36 to ensure payment to a party defendant in an amount reasonably 37 sufficient to cover the partys defendants anticipated, 38 reasonable expenses of litigation, including attorney attorneys 39 fees and taxable costs. 40 (c)(d)Vexatious litigant means a person, as defined in 41 s. 1.01(3), proceeding pro se, who: 42 1.A person as defined in s. 1.01(3) who, In the 43 immediately preceding 7-year 5-year period, has commenced, 44 prosecuted, or maintained, pro se, five or more civil actions in 45 any court which in this state, except an action governed by the 46 Florida Small Claims Rules, which actions have been finally and 47 adversely determined against such person, except an action may 48 not be included for purposes of this subparagraph if the court 49 finds that the action was commenced, prosecuted, or maintained 50 in good faith or entity; or 51 2.After an action has been finally and adversely 52 determined against the person, repeatedly relitigates or 53 attempts to relitigate either: 54 a.The validity of the determination against the same party 55 in an action that was finally determined; or 56 b.The cause of action, claim, controversy, or any of the 57 issues of fact or law determined by the final and adverse 58 determination against the same party in an action that was 59 finally determined; 60 3.Repeatedly files pleadings, requests for relief, or 61 other documents that have been the subject of previous rulings 62 by the court in the same action; 63 4.Repeatedly files unmeritorious pleadings, requests for 64 relief, or other documents; 65 5.Repeatedly conducts unnecessary discovery; 66 6.Repeatedly engages in other tactics that are frivolous 67 or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay in any action; or 68 7.2.Has been Any person or entity previously found to be a 69 vexatious litigant pursuant to this section or by another state 70 court or a federal court. 71 72 An action is not deemed to be finally and adversely determined 73 if an appeal in that action is pending. If an action has been 74 commenced on behalf of a party by an attorney licensed to 75 practice law in this state, that action is not deemed to be pro 76 se even if the attorney later withdraws from the representation 77 and the party does not retain new counsel. 78 (3)(a)In any action pending in any court of this state, 79 including actions governed by the Florida Small Claims Rules, 80 any party defendant may move the court, upon notice and hearing, 81 for an order requiring an opposing party the plaintiff to 82 furnish security. The motion must shall be based on the grounds, 83 and supported by a showing, that the opposing party subject to 84 the motion plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not 85 reasonably likely to prevail on the merits of the action against 86 the moving party defendant. 87 (b)At the hearing upon any defendants motion for an order 88 to post security, the court shall consider any evidence, written 89 or oral, by witness or affidavit, which may be relevant to the 90 consideration of the motion. A No determination made by the 91 court in such a hearing is not shall be admissible on the merits 92 of the action nor or deemed to be a determination of any issue 93 in the action. If, after hearing the evidence, the court 94 determines that the opposing party subject to the motion 95 plaintiff is a vexatious litigant and is not reasonably likely 96 to prevail on the merits of the action against the moving party 97 defendant, the court must shall order the vexatious litigant 98 plaintiff to furnish security to the moving party defendant in 99 an amount and within such time as the court deems appropriate. 100 (c)If the vexatious litigant plaintiff fails to post 101 security required by an order of the court under this section 102 and the vexatious litigant is: 103 1.A plaintiff or petitioner, the court must shall 104 immediately issue an order dismissing the action with prejudice 105 as to the moving party defendant for whose benefit the security 106 was ordered; or 107 2.A defendant or respondent, the court may immediately 108 issue an order imposing one or more of the following sanctions, 109 as appropriate: 110 a.Denial of the vexatious litigants request for relief; 111 b.Striking of the vexatious litigants pleading or other 112 document or part thereof; or 113 c.Rendition of a judgment by default against the vexatious 114 litigant. 115 (d)If the a motion for an order to post security is filed 116 before prior to the trial in an action, the action is shall be 117 automatically stayed and the moving party defendant need not 118 plead or otherwise respond to the vexatious litigants 119 complaint, pleading, request for relief, or other document until 120 10 days after the motion for an order to post security is 121 denied. If the motion for an order to post security is granted, 122 the moving party must defendant shall respond or plead no later 123 than 10 days after the required security has been furnished. 124 (4)In addition to any other relief provided in this 125 section, the court in any judicial circuit may, on its own 126 motion or on the motion of any party, enter a prefiling order 127 prohibiting a vexatious litigant from commencing, pro se, any 128 new action in the courts of that circuit without first obtaining 129 leave of the court administrative judge of that circuit. 130 Disobedience of such an order may be punished as contempt of 131 court by the administrative judge of that circuit. Leave of 132 court shall be granted by the court administrative judge only 133 upon a showing that the proposed action is meritorious and is 134 not being filed for the purpose of delay or harassment. The 135 court administrative judge may condition the filing of the 136 proposed action upon the furnishing of security as provided in 137 this section. 138 (5)The clerk of the court may shall not file any new 139 action by a pro se vexatious litigant against whom a prefiling 140 order has been entered pro se unless the vexatious litigant has 141 obtained an order from the court allowing administrative judge 142 permitting such filing. If the clerk of the court mistakenly 143 allows a pro se permits a vexatious litigant to file any new an 144 action pro se in contravention of a prefiling order, any party 145 to that action may file with the clerk and serve on the 146 vexatious litigant plaintiff and all other parties defendants a 147 notice stating that the plaintiff is a pro se vexatious litigant 148 is subject to a prefiling order. The filing of such a notice 149 shall automatically stays stay the litigation against all 150 parties defendants to the action. The court administrative judge 151 shall automatically dismiss the action with prejudice within 10 152 days after the filing of such notice unless the vexatious 153 litigant plaintiff files a motion for leave to file the new 154 action. If the court administrative judge issues an order 155 granting leave, the pleadings or other responses permitting the 156 action to be filed, the defendants need not plead or otherwise 157 respond to the complaint need not be filed until 10 days after 158 the date of service by the vexatious litigant plaintiff, by 159 United States mail, of a copy of the order granting leave to 160 file the action. 161 (7)An automatic stay imposed under this section remains in 162 effect until the court: 163 (a)In its discretion, vacates the stay; 164 (b)Rules, as applicable, on the motion for an order to 165 post security under paragraph (3)(d) or the motion for leave 166 under subsection (5); or 167 (c)Dismisses the action under subsection (5). 168 (8)(7)The relief provided under this section is shall be 169 cumulative to any other relief or remedy available to a 170 defendant under the laws of this state or the rules of court and 171 the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, including, but not limited 172 to, the relief provided under s. 57.105. 173 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
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