Title: In Re: Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.120 and 9.210
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC19-884
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: December 3, 2020

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC19-884 
____________ 
 
 
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE 
PROCEDURE 9.120 AND 9.210. 
 
December 3, 2020 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
The Court has for consideration the supplemental report of The Florida Bar’s 
Appellate Court Rules Committee (Committee) proposing amendments to Florida 
Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.120 (Discretionary Proceedings to Review 
Decisions of District Courts of Appeal) and 9.210 (Briefs).  We have jurisdiction.  
See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. 
 
Previously, in In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 
9.120 & 9.210, 284 So. 3d 967 (Fla. 2019), the Court adopted, with modifications, 
amendments to rules 9.120 and 9.210 that establish a procedure for respondents to 
identify cross-review issues in discretionary review cases through the service of a 
“notice of cross-review.”  The Court made the following modifications to the 
amendments: 
 
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A new subdivision (f) titled “Notices of Cross-Review” is 
added to rule 9.120 (Discretionary Proceedings to Review Decisions 
of District Courts of Appeal).  The new subdivision as proposed by 
the Committee would have required a respondent who intends to raise 
cross-review issues in a discretionary review case to serve a notice of 
cross-review within fifteen days of the rendition of this Court’s order 
accepting jurisdiction.  However, we have modified new subdivision 
(f) of the rule to require a notice of cross-review to be served within 
five days of the service of a timely filed notice to invoke the Court’s 
discretionary jurisdiction.  We also have added a requirement that the 
notice identify the issue(s) the respondent intends to raise on cross-
review.  We modified the new subdivision because we agree with the 
Committee’s observation in the report that a notice of cross-review 
filed at the jurisdiction determination stage of a discretionary review 
case would be beneficial to the Court in deciding whether it should 
accept jurisdiction in a case in which a basis exists for the Court to 
exercise its discretionary jurisdiction. 
 
Id. at 967. 
 
Following the issuance of In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate 
Procedure 9.120 & 9.210, the Committee moved for rehearing, contending that the 
Court’s modifications place respondents “in a quagmire . . . by having to decide 
whether to raise cross-review issues before they know the particular jurisdictional 
basis and issues petitioners intend to raise and having to do so within just five days 
of the notice to invoke.”  The Committee also claimed that the five-day period in 
which to file a notice of cross-review placed respondents at a significant 
disadvantage when a notice to invoke is filed quickly after issuance of a district 
court decision, and placed petitioners at a disadvantage in preparing a jurisdictional 
brief, as they will be unaware of whether any cross-review issues exist until nearly 
 
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half of the ten-day period in rule 9.120(d) to file a jurisdictional brief has expired.  
The Court granted the Committee’s motion, postponed the effective date of the 
amendments, and directed the Committee to file a supplemental report addressing 
the modified rule amendments. 
 
The Committee has now filed a supplemental report proposing amendments 
to rules 9.120 and 9.210 that dispense altogether with the requirement that a 
respondent serve a notice of cross-review.  The proposed amendments require the 
parties to identify in a separate “statement of the issues” section of their 
jurisdictional briefs the issues they intend to raise that are independent of those 
upon which jurisdiction is sought.  The Committee did not publish its proposals for 
comment prior to filing them with the Court.  After the Committee filed its report, 
the Court published the proposals for comment; no comments were received. 
 
Having considered the Committee’s supplemental report, we hereby adopt 
the amendments to rules 9.120 and 9.210 as proposed by the Committee.  The 
amendments to rule 9.120 delete references to the service of a notice of cross-
review from subdivision (d) (Briefs on Jurisdiction), as well as language excluding 
certified questions of great public importance from the jurisdictional brief 
requirements.  Rule 9.120(f) (Notices of Cross-Review) is replaced with a new 
subdivision titled “Additional Issues on Review or Cross-Review,” under which a 
party who intends to raise issues in this Court independent of those upon which 
 
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jurisdiction is based is required to identify the issues in the statement of the issues 
section of his or her jurisdictional brief. 
 
Rule 9.210(a) (Generally) is amended to permit the filing of a cross-reply 
brief in cases where a cross-appeal has been filed or a respondent identifies cross-
review issues in his or her brief on jurisdiction.  New subdivision (f), titled 
“Contents of Briefs on Jurisdiction,” is added to rule 9.210.  The new subdivision 
identifies the required contents of a jurisdictional brief.  It also requires that the 
parties identify in the statement of issues section of their jurisdictional briefs the 
issues they intend to raise if review is granted that are independent of those upon 
which the Court’s jurisdiction is invoked. 
 
Accordingly, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.120 and 9.210 are 
amended as set forth in the appendix to this opinion.  New language is indicated by 
underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type.  The amendments 
shall become effective on January 1, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. 
 
It is so ordered. 
CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, MUÑIZ, COURIEL, 
and GROSSHANS, JJ., concur. 
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 
 
 
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Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 
 
Hon. Stephanie Williams Ray, Chair, and Thomas D. Hall, Past Chair, Appellate 
Court Rules Committee, Tallahassee, Florida; and Joshua E. Doyle, Executive 
Director, and Krys Godwin, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, 
 
for Petitioner 
 
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Appendix 
RULE 9.120. 
DISCRETIONARY PROCEEDINGS TO REVIEW 
DECISIONS OF DISTRICT COURTS OF APPEAL 
(a)-(c) 
[NO CHANGE] 
 
(d)  
Briefs on Jurisdiction.  The petitioner’s brief, with the argument 
section limited solely to the issue of the supreme court’s jurisdiction, and 
accompanied by an appendix containing only a conformed copy of the decision of 
the district court of appeal, shall be served within 10 days of the filing of the notice 
to invoke the court’s discretionary jurisdiction or the service of a notice of cross-
review under subdivision (f) of this rule, if one is filed. The respondent’s brief on 
jurisdiction shall be served within 30 days after service of petitioner’s brief. 
Formal requirements for both briefs are specified in rule 9.210. No reply brief shall 
be permitted. If jurisdiction is invoked under rule 9.030(a)(2)(A)(v) (certifications 
of questions of great public importance by the district courts of appeal to the 
supreme court), no briefs on jurisdiction shall be filed. 
(e) 
 
[NO CHANGE] 
(f) 
Notices of Cross-Review. Within 5 days of the service of a timely 
filed notice to invoke the court’s discretionary jurisdiction, a respondent shall serve 
a notice of cross-review if the respondent intends to file a cross-initial brief raising 
any issues independent of those upon which the petitioner sought review. The 
notice shall identify the issue(s) the respondent intends to raise on cross-
review.Additional Issues on Review or Cross-Review. As specified in rule 9.210, 
if the petitioner or respondent intends to raise issues for review in the supreme 
court independent of those on which jurisdiction is based, the petitioner or 
respondent must identify those issues in the statement of the issues included in 
their brief on jurisdiction.   
(g) 
 
[NO CHANGE] 
Committee Notes 
[NO CHANGE] 
 
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RULE 9.210. 
BRIEFS 
(a) 
Generally. In addition to briefs on jurisdiction under rule 
9.120(d)Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the only briefs permitted to be filed 
by the parties in any 1 proceeding are the initial brief, the answer brief, and a reply 
brief, and a cross-reply brief. A cross-reply brief is permitted if a cross-appeal has 
been filed or if the respondent identifies issues on cross-review in its brief on 
jurisdiction in the supreme court. All briefs required by these rules shall be 
prepared as follows: 
(1)-(4) 
[NO CHANGE] 
(5) 
The page limits for briefs shall be as follows: 
(A) 
 
[NO CHANGE] 
(B) 
Except as provided in subdivisions (a)(5)(C) and 
(a)(5)(D) of this rule, the initial and answer briefs shall not exceed 50 pages and 
the reply brief shall not exceed 15 pages. If a cross-appeal is filed or a notice of 
cross-review is filedthe respondent identifies issues on cross-review in its brief on 
jurisdiction in the supreme court, the appellee or respondent’s answer/cross-initial 
brief shall not exceed 85 pages, and the appellant or petitioner’s reply/cross-answer 
brief shall not exceed 50 pages, not more than 15 of which shall be devoted to 
argument replying to the answer portion of the appellee or respondent’s 
answer/cross-initial brief. Cross-reply briefs shall not exceed 15 pages. 
(C)-(D) 
[NO CHANGE] 
(E) 
The cover sheet, the tables of contents and citations, the 
certificates of service and compliance, and the signature block for the brief’s 
author shall be excluded from the page limits in subdivisions (a)(5)(A)–(a)(5)(D). 
For briefs on jurisdiction, the statement of the issues also shall be excluded from 
the page limit in subdivision (a)(5)(A). All pages not excluded from the 
computation shall be consecutively numbered. The court may permit longer briefs. 
 
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(6) 
 
[NO CHANGE] 
(b) 
 
[NO CHANGE] 
(c) 
Contents of Answer Brief. The answer brief shall be prepared in the 
same manner as the initial brief, provided that the statement of the case and of the 
facts may be omitted, if the corresponding section of the initial brief is deemed 
satisfactory. If a cross-appeal has been filed or a notice of cross-review has been 
filedthe respondent identifies issues on cross-review in its brief on jurisdiction in 
the supreme court, the answer brief shall include the issues presented in the cross-
appeal or cross-review, and argument in support of those issues.  
(d)-(e) 
[NO CHANGE] 
(f) 
Contents of Briefs on Jurisdiction. Briefs on jurisdiction, filed 
pursuant to rule 9.120, shall contain a statement of the issues, a statement of the 
case and facts, the argument, the conclusion, a table of contents, a table of 
citations, a certificate of service, and, for computer-generated briefs, shall also 
include a certificate of compliance in the same manner as provided in subdivisions 
(a) and (b) of this rule. In the statement of the issues, petitioner shall identify any 
issues independent of those on which jurisdiction is invoked that petitioner intends 
to raise if the court grants review. Respondent, in its statement of the issues, shall 
clearly identify any affirmative issues, independent of those on which jurisdiction 
is invoked and independent of those raised by petitioner in its statement of the 
issues, that respondent intends to raise on cross-review if the court grants review. 
(g) 
Times for Service of Briefs. The times for serving jurisdiction and 
initial briefs are prescribed by rules 9.110, 9.120, 9.130, and 9.140. Unless 
otherwise required, the answer brief shall be served within 30 days after service of 
the initial brief; the reply brief, if any, shall be served within 30 days after service 
of the answer brief; and the cross-reply brief, if any, shall be served within 30 days 
thereafter. In any appeal or cross-appeal, if more than 1 initial or answer brief is 
authorized, the responsive brief shall be served within 30 days after the last initial 
or answer brief was served.  If the last authorized initial or answer brief is not 
served, the responsive brief shall be served within 30 days after the last authorized 
initial or answer brief could have been timely served. 
 
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(gh) Citations. Counsel are requested to use the uniform citation system 
prescribed by rule 9.800. 
Committee Notes 
[NO CHANGE] 
Court Commentary 
[NO CHANGE]