Court Opinion

ID: 9930696
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-07 16:04:51.434019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:24:37.122811
License: Public Domain

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                STATE OF FLORIDA
                 _____________________________

                        No. 1D2022-3678
                 _____________________________

ADAM KILLICK,

    Appellant,

    v.

CHARLES BENEDICT,

    Appellee.
                 _____________________________

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
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.
               _____________________________

Adam Killick, pro se, Appellant.

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

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