FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

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No. 1D2022-3678

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ADAM KILLICK,

Appellant,

v.

CHARLES BENEDICT,

Appellee.

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On appeal from the County Court for Leon County.

Augustus D. Aikens, Jr., Judge.

February 7, 2024

PER CURIAM.

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 small claims court. 

We note that the Florida Small Claims Rules differ from the 

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. The small claims rules 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 amount 
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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 the 

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 Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 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). And 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). The summary judgment standard

provided under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure must be

applied by the trial court in accordance with the federal summary 

judgment standard. Id. 

But both the rules governing small claims and the rules 

governing ordinary civil claims require that a pleading be filed to 

commence an action. Pleadings 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. Third Nat. Bank, 143 So. 768, 770 (Fla. 

1932). Despite 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 the first time in response to a 

summary disposition. 

The Court denies all pending motions. 

AFFIRMED.

ROBERTS, ROWE, and LONG, JJ., concur.
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Not final until disposition of any timely and 

authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 

9.331.

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Adam Killick, pro se, Appellant.

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

Miami, for Appellee.