Summary judgment in a Florida family law appeal

Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

What is summary judgment in a Florida family law case? This is a judgment entered by the court when there is no issue of material fact. In other words, when the court finds that there is no genuine dispute regarding an issue in the case, the court will skip conducting a trial on the issue. The court will instead just enter a judgment on the issue. In a way, this is an expedited way of getting a final judgment. One example would be if the parties agree in a paternity case that the father is the biological and legal father of a child. Since the parties agree, there is no need to have a trial on this issue, so the court can enter summary judgment declaring the father to be the father. Can summary judgment be entered on appeal? This was an issue in the case Saenz v. Sanchez, 3D24-0862 (Fla. 3d DCA May 29, 2024).

This appellate opinion does not give any background information. It only affirms the order of the trial court summarily, citing a Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure: “Upon careful review of the record and appellant’s arguments, we summarily affirm the challenged May 10, 2024 trial court order pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.315(a) (‘After service of the initial brief . . . the court may summarily affirm the order to be reviewed if the court finds that no preliminary basis for reversal has been demonstrated.’).”

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