Aggressive case management, sanctions needed to bring about a 'cultural change': Court hears arguments on civil rules proposals meant to ensure 'the fair and timely resolution of all cases through effective case management'.

Major reforms are needed to combat a "culture of non-compliance" in Florida's civil trial system, proponents of a Judicial Management Council workgroup's sweeping rules petition told the Supreme Court during oral arguments in December.

Second District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Robert Morris, who chairs the Workgroup on Improved Resolution of Civil Cases, said the proposal's call for aggressive case management and tough sanctions are needed to bring about a "cultural change."

"Yes, sanctions are everywhere in our report and we've not recommended this because we're autocratic, but because we recognize a growing culture of noncompliance in the absence of consequences for failing to follow the rules," he said.

Sanctions are also necessary to "force popularly elected judges to compel lawyers to follow the rules," he said.

Critics warned that the workgroup is calling for too much change, too soon, without evidence it will work.

"Justice shouldn't be taken by storm," said Civil Procedure Rules Committee Chair Lance Curry. "The problem here is, there are no assurances that that it is going to be worth it."

Curry noted that Florida's civil courts eliminated 60% of a pandemic-related case backlog without major reforms. Moving too swiftly could make the courts less efficient, he warned.

"It's going to...create massive litigation for years to come," Curry said.

Curry argued that procedural rules shouldn't be changed to target a few bad actors.

"I feel like several of these proposals are written to address the few unethical attorneys or judges that can't control their dockets," he said.

Justice Charles Canady said the problem is more "pervasive" and clients are paying the price.

"A lot of the abuses that are taking place are unfair to the people that are on the receiving end," he said. "We're trying to take care of that."

Canady was chief justice in 2019 when he formed the workgroup and directed it to ensure "the fair and timely resolution of all cases through effective case management." The panel was also directed to "utilize caseload and other workload information to manage resources and promote accountability."

In January, the workgroup filed a 450-page final report, along with proposed amendments to Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Rules of Civil Procedure, Small Claims Rules, and Rules of Mediation.

Prior to that, the workgroup circulated an initial draft to various stakeholders, including rules committees, and adopted many...