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

A Florida divorce case can be dismissed if neither party takes action to move the case forward. If there has been no activity in the case for 10 months, the court or a party may issue a notice that the case will be dismissed for lack of prosecution if nothing is done to progress the case within the 60 days following service of the notice. This was an issue in the case Reed v. Reed, 4D2023-1898 (Fla. 4th DCA May 15, 2024).

The trial court in this divorce case dismissed the case for lack of prosecution. This order was appealed, and the appellate court noted that there had been record activity in the case in the 60 days following service of the notice of lack of prosecution. The court held “Our supreme court has held that activity by either the plaintiff or the defendant can constitute record activity so as to avoid dismissal for lack of prosecution. See E. Elevator, Inc. v. Page, 263 So. 2d 218, 219–20 (Fla. 1972). Therefore, it is immaterial that the pleadings served after receipt of the court’s notice of lack of prosecution were served by the respondent rather than the petitioner. The order of dismissal for lack of prosecution is reversed and remanded for further proceedings in the cause.”

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