ADR Section St. Pete Retreat

Please join fellow members of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of The Florida Bar later this month in beautiful St. Pete at the Hyatt Place–St. Petersburg-Downtown for their annual retreat weekend. This active section which includes certified civil and family mediators, qualified arbitrators and other attorneys looking to learn more about being effective utilizing ADR processes is now celebrating its fifteenth year! I have been honored to serve as an emeritus member of the Executive Council after serving two terms. This is a great opportunity to become more involved in the leadership of the profession and to help guide processes such as important rulemaking at the state level. The tentative schedule for the program is as follows: Friday, August 22, 2025: Happy Hour at Hyatt Place (4:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m.) Dinner at Oak and Stone (following Happy Hour) Saturday, August 23, 2025: CLE/CME Presentations at Hyatt Place (9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.) Lunch Provided at Hyatt Place (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Executive Council Meeting (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Off-Site Dinner and/or Team Event (TBD) This year's event will include some focus on the evolution of Nonbinding Arbitration in Florida that is increasingly being employed by many circuits to cull the court dockets still backlogged from the pandemic. Special rate room block booking cutoff is August 11th. More information here-- https://flabaradr.com/events/the-adr-section-annual-retreat/ Sign form up here-- https://tinyurl.com/ecbk94zf

More Civil Rules Proposals Affecting Nonbinding Arb

The Florida Civil Procedure Rules Committee is proposing amendments to conform to changes to the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration adopted earlier this year in SC2023-1401, In Re: Amendments to Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, including discovery Rule 1.280 to track Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(A)(iii) and for consistency between subdivisions. As pertains to ADR, Rule 1.700, Rules Common to Mediation and Arbitration, allows the use of both audio and video communication technology in mediation and arbitration, if the parties do not want to appear in person, which is the default. Under that rule, a judge may enter an order referring all or any partof a case to mediation or arbitration, unless prohibited by law. The parties to any case may agree to mediate or arbitrate any issue at any time. Except as provided in this rule, mediation and arbitration must be conducted in person. The judge may order, or the parties may stipulate, that the mediation or arbitration may be conducted through the use of communication technology. The communication technology must include both audio and video unless all parties stipulate or the judge finds cause. Changes to Rule 1.820, Hearing Procedures for Nonbinding Arbitration, purportedly make it easier to address unintended appellate court interpretation of a recent amendment to this provision (People’s Trust Ins. Co. v.Hernandez, 4D2024-3274) and to better align the rule with existing electronic filing practices. For instance, proposed Rule 1.820 (h) is suggesting the nomenclature be simply a "Request for Trial" thereby elimimating the previous process entitled what used to be called a request for trial de novo and then, more recently, a notice of rejection of arbitration decision. Additionally, if a Request for Trial is filed within 20 days of the service of the arbitration decision, the arbitration decision must not be filed until necessary to enforce the provisions of Section 44.103, Florida Statutes, after the entry of judgment. This change seems inconsistent with the routine filing of decisions under seal until such time as the parties accept an award. The Florida Bar ADR Section is considering filing a comment on the language which may require requesting an extension from the Supreme Court of Florida, but public comments are due by August 18, 2025. See more here-- https://tinyurl.com/5d25e337