## F IRST 

## D ISTRICT 

## C OURT OF 

## A PPEAL 

## S TATE OF 

## F LORIDA

_____________________________
No. 1D 20 22

- 3678

_____________________________
A DAM K ILLICK , Appellant,

v.

C HARLES B ENEDICT , Appellee.

_____________________________

On appeal from the County Court for Leon County

. Augustus D. Aikens, Jr. , Judge

. February 7, 2024

P ER C URIAM

. Appellant , Adam Killick, appeals the trial court’s order granting Appellees’ motion for summary disposition under Florida Small Claims Rule 7.135

. On appeal, Killick asserts, among other things, that the trial court overlooked the triable issues

“ embedded ”

— but not written

— in his statement of claim

. We affirm and write to clarify issue waiver in sma ll claims court.

We note that the Florida S mall C laims R ules differ from the Florida R ules of C ivil P rocedure

. T he s mall c laims r ules were implemented to enable “simple, speedy, and inexpensive trial of actions at law in county courts

. ” Fl. Sm. Cl. R. 7.010(a)

. To commence an action in small claims court , a statement of claim is filed which “inform[s] the defendant of the basis and the amount2 of the claim.” Fl. Sm. Cl. R. 7.050(a)(1). No answer or written pretrial motions are necessary. Fla. Sm. Cl. R. 7.090(c). And t he court may enter summary disposition at the pretrial conference or at any subsequent hearing, if there is “no triable issue.” Fl. Sm. Cl. R. 7.135.

By contrast, the F lorida R ules of C ivil P rocedure require a complaint and an answer. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.100(a). The complaint must state a cause of action and include a statement of jurisdiction, statement of the facts, and demand for relief. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1

. 110(b). An d the court may enter summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law .” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(a). T he summary judgment standard provided under the Flo rida Rules of Civil Procedure must be applied by the trial court in accordance with the federal summary judgment standard. Id

.

B ut b oth the rules governing small claims and the rules governing ordinary civil claims require that a pleading be filed to

commence an action. Pleading s aim to put the court and the opposing party on notice of the issues to be tried. See Coca

- Cola Bottling Co. v. Clark , 299 So. 2d 78 , 82 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); see also 40 Fla. Jur. 2d Pleadings § 1 (2023) (“Pleadings are intended, in part, to disclose each party’s respective position on the legal issue involved in a lawsuit .”). Only matters put in issue by the pleadings may be considered in a civil action. Des Rocher & Watkins Towing Co. v. Thir d Nat. Bank , 143 So. 768, 770 (Fla. 1932). D espite the flexibility of the small claims rules, the pleading that commences an action is the root from which the claim grows . Therefore, the trial court need not entertain plaintiff’s new claims
, raised for t he first time in response to a summary disposition.

The Court denies all pending motions.

A FFIRMED

.
R OBERTS , R OWE , and L ONG , JJ., concur

.3 _____________________________ Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331

.

_____________________________

Adam Killick, pro se

, Appellant.

Scott Cole and Francesca M. Stein of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A., Miami
, for Appellee.