How a Civil Lawsuit Works in Florida

A civil lawsuit in Florida follows a sequence that most people can predict once they see it laid out: complaint, answer, discovery, mediation, trial, judgment, and collection. Collecting on the judgment can continue for up to 20 years.

Where a person stands in that timeline determines what asset protection options remain available. Options exist at every stage, including after a judgment is entered.

Filing the Complaint

A civil lawsuit in Florida starts when the plaintiff files a complaint with the clerk of court in the county where the dispute belongs. The complaint names the parties, states the factual allegations, and specifies the damages or other relief the plaintiff is seeking. Filing creates a case number and an official court record.

The plaintiff must then serve the complaint and a summons on the defendant through formal service of process. Florida law requires service by a process server, sheriff’s deputy, or other authorized person. The summons tells the defendant that a lawsuit has been filed and states the deadline to respond, typically 20 calendar days.

Improper service can be grounds for dismissal. If the complaint was not personally delivered to the defendant or to someone at least 15 years old who lives with the defendant, the service may be defective. Hiding from a process server, however, is not a reliable defense. Florida Statute 48.181 lets a plaintiff serve the Florida Secretary of State when the defendant has left the state or conceals their whereabouts, and the claim arises from a business the defendant carried on in Florida. Courts enforce this procedure when the plaintiff follows it strictly.

The Answer and Early Motions

Florida gives a defendant 20 calendar days after service to file an answer with the court. The answer responds to each allegation in the complaint by admitting it, denying it, or stating that the defendant lacks sufficient knowledge to respond. Any allegation the answer does not address is treated as admitted, except an allegation about the amount of damages.

The answer may also raise affirmative defenses (such as statute of limitations, failure to state a claim, or improper venue) and may include counterclaims against the plaintiff. As an alternative to answering, the defendant can file a motion to dismiss, arguing that the complaint fails as a matter of law, that the court lacks jurisdiction, or that venue is wrong.

Failing to file any response within the 20-day window allows the plaintiff to seek a default judgment. A default admits the plaintiff’s allegations about liability and can produce a judgment without trial. A defendant who simply missed the deadline must prove excusable neglect, a meritorious defense, and prompt action to set the judgment aside, and failing any one defeats the motion. Succeeding is expensive and uncertain. A defendant attacking the judgment as void does not have to prove any of the three.

Discovery

Discovery is where both sides in a Florida civil lawsuit exchange evidence under court-supervised rules. The four primary tools are interrogatories (written questions answered under oath), requests for production (document demands), requests for admission (statements the other side must admit or deny), and depositions (sworn testimony taken outside court).

In a money-judgment case, the plaintiff uses discovery to identify the defendant’s assets, income, bank accounts, real property, and business interests. The defendant must answer truthfully. Lying under oath during discovery carries penalties for perjury and contempt.

Courts set discovery deadlines through case management orders, and missing those deadlines can result in sanctions or exclusion of evidence at trial.

Summary Judgment

Before a case reaches trial, either side may file a motion for summary judgment arguing that the material facts are undisputed and the law entitles them to judgment without a trial. If the court agrees, the case ends or narrows to only the contested issues.

Summary judgment motions are common in commercial and contract disputes where the facts are documented. A creditor with a signed promissory note and clear evidence of default, for example, may obtain summary judgment without a full trial. For the defendant, losing a summary judgment motion means a judgment is entered and collection begins, sometimes faster than the defendant anticipated.

Mediation

A Florida judge may refer a contested civil case to mediation. Mediation is a structured negotiation session with a neutral mediator who helps the parties explore settlement. Neither side is required to agree to anything, and the mediator has no authority to impose a result.

Many civil cases settle at mediation. The settlement amount often reflects both the strength of the plaintiff’s case and the defendant’s practical ability to pay. A defendant whose assets are largely exempt (homestead, retirement accounts, tenancy by the entirety property) may settle for substantially less than the full claim because the plaintiff recognizes that even with a judgment, collection will be difficult.

Trial and Judgment

If a Florida civil case does not settle, it proceeds to trial before a judge or jury. The plaintiff presents evidence first, followed by the defendant. The burden of proof in most civil cases is preponderance of the evidence. The plaintiff must show that the claim is more likely true than not.

After trial, the court enters a judgment stating whether the defendant is liable and the amount of damages. Damages can include economic losses (quantifiable financial harm), non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress), and in some cases punitive damages that punish egregious conduct.

Either party can appeal within 30 days. An appeal addresses legal errors made during the trial, not factual disputes the jury already decided. The judgment remains enforceable during the appeal unless the defendant posts a supersedeas bond. That bond, in the amount of the judgment plus two years of interest, guarantees payment if the appeal fails.

Florida law also gives either party 15 days after the judgment is filed to serve a motion for rehearing. Most creditors wait for this period to expire before beginning collection, though nothing prevents a creditor from recording the judgment as a lien immediately.

Post-Judgment Collection

A Florida judgment is enforceable for 20 years and accrues post-judgment interest on the unpaid balance. The judgment does not collect itself. The creditor must use specific legal tools to locate and seize the debtor’s assets.

The Fact Information Sheet

The creditor typically starts by requiring the debtor to complete a fact information sheet under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.977. The sheet is a sworn financial disclosure listing assets, income, bank accounts, real property, and business interests. The debtor completes the form and serves it on the creditor within 45 days of the judgment. The form goes to the creditor, not into the clerk’s public file. Failing to complete it or making false statements can result in a contempt finding. The information in this form guides the creditor’s entire collection strategy.

Recording the Judgment as a Lien

The creditor records the judgment in any Florida county where the debtor owns real property, creating a judgment lien. The lien attaches to all non-homestead real property the debtor owns in that county. The recorded lien lasts 10 years, and re-recording the judgment before it lapses extends the lien for another 10 years, up to the judgment’s 20-year life. A separate judgment lien certificate filed with the Department of State reaches personal property for five years, renewable once.

Proceedings Supplementary

Proceedings supplementary are the creditor’s primary post-judgment investigative tool. The creditor can subpoena the debtor to appear under oath and answer questions about assets, income, property, and transfers. The debtor must bring financial documents including tax returns, bank statements, and property records. Failing to appear can result in a contempt finding and a bench warrant.

Garnishment

The creditor can obtain a writ of garnishment directing a third party, typically a bank or employer, to freeze and turn over the debtor’s assets. Wage garnishment takes up to 25% of disposable earnings under federal limits, though the head of household exemption may leave a qualifying debtor’s disposable earnings untouched. A qualifying debtor gives the protection up only by a written waiver, and only for earnings above $750 a week. Bank account garnishment freezes the full balance, and the debtor has 20 days to file a claim of exemption.

Execution and Levy

Execution and levy allow the creditor to direct the sheriff to seize and sell non-exempt personal property at public auction. The proceeds, after the sheriff’s fees and any prior lien holders are paid, are applied to the judgment balance.

Asset Protection at Each Stage

The stage of a lawsuit determines which asset protection strategies remain available and how much scrutiny any transfer will receive from a court applying fraudulent transfer analysis.

Before the complaint. Pre-claim planning faces the least legal scrutiny. Section 726.105 still reaches a transfer made before any claim exists. The statute has two routes. One needs proof the debtor acted to hinder, delay, or defraud. The other has no intent element. It asks whether the debtor received reasonably equivalent value, and whether the transfer left him unable to cover the debts he expected. Titling assets as tenants by the entireties, funding exempt accounts, and forming entities are all straightforward and defensible.

After the complaint, before judgment. Options narrow but do not disappear. A homestead bought after the complaint stays protected even when the buyer meant to defeat the creditor, because the exemption is constitutional. An annuity has no such footing. Florida Statute 222.30 gives the creditor four years to undo a conversion made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud. Transfers after a lawsuit is filed face heightened scrutiny under the badges of fraud analysis. Cook Islands trusts can still be established at this stage, with the Jones clause managing the existing creditor’s claim.

After judgment. Post-judgment planning is constrained but not impossible. Florida exemptions apply regardless of when they are claimed. The homestead exemption protects an existing primary residence even after a judgment is entered. Asserting the head of household exemption, filing claims of exemption on garnished accounts, and challenging procedural defects in collection all remain available. Settling the judgment for less than the full amount is common when the creditor recognizes that exempt assets are unreachable.

Florida Statute 57.115 adds another risk after judgment. A court can make the debtor pay the creditor’s reasonable costs and attorney’s fees for executing on the judgment, and in fixing the amount it weighs whether the debtor tried to avoid paying. A transfer that triggers fraudulent transfer liability can push the fee award higher on top of the underlying judgment.

Florida’s judgment collection laws give creditors powerful tools, but every tool has procedural requirements, deadlines, and exemptions that limit its reach.