For our associates practising within the Sunshine State, we need to spotlight new guidelines amendments which took impact on January 1, 2025. Most notably, Florida joins states across the nation adopting the proportionality language from Federal Rule of Civil Process 26(b)(1). See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(c).
In 2015 the Federal Guidelines of Civil Process have been amended so as to add, amongst different issues, that discovery be “proportional to the wants of the case.” Since that point states across the nation have been slowly amending their state counterpart guidelines to deliver them into alignment. Florida has now joined in with an modification to trace the federal rule.
In its opinion amending the principles, the Florida Supreme Court docket left little question that it absolutely intends for the state’s courts to observe the federal normal. See In Re: Amendments to Florida Guidelines of Civil Process, 2024 WL 4983566 (Fla. Dec. 5, 2024). Not solely did the court docket undertake the federal language, nevertheless it additionally added in its Court docket Commentary that the rule is “to be construed and utilized in accordance with the federal proportionality normal.” Id. at *1. The court docket defined that this commentary “needs to be adequate to guide practitioners and judges to look to federal historical past and precedents when making use of proportionality.” Id.
This brings the variety of states including proportionality to their guidelines to not less than 17, plus the District of Columbia. These embody:
- Alabama, Ala. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Arizona, Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Colorado, Colo. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Delaware, Del. Ch. Ct. R. 26(b)(1), Del. Tremendous. Ct. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- District of Columbia, D.C. Tremendous. Ct. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Florida, Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(c)
- Indiana (business court docket), Ind. Industrial Ct. R. 6(A)
- Kansas, Kan. Stat. § 60-226(b)(1)
- Michigan, Mich. Ct. R. 2.302(B)(1)
- Minnesota, Minn. R. Civ. P. 26.02(b)
- Missouri, Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 56.01
- Nevada, Nev. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Ohio, Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(B)(1)
- Utah, Utah R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Oklahoma, Okla. Sta. tit. 12 § 3226(B)(1)
- Vermont, Vt. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
- Wisconsin, Wis. Code § 804.01(2)(a)
- Wyoming, Wyo. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)
After all, this doesn’t imply that states not listed eschew proportionality ideas. Nevertheless it’s good to see extra states memorializing it of their guidelines.