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Florida earliest summary judgment hearing date
Under the amended Florida rule (effective January 1, 2025), a summary-judgment hearing may not be held earlier than 10 days after the response deadline — which is itself 40 days after the motion is served. Enter the motion-service date for the earliest date the hearing can be set.
Estimates based on standard Florida rules and federal-holiday closures; not legal advice. Confirm against your specific case, local administrative orders, and the current rules.
How the deadline works
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(c)(5), as amended effective January 1, 2025, ties the summary-judgment schedule to service of the motion. The nonmovant’s response is due 40 days after the motion is served, and the hearing may not be held until at least 10 days after that response deadline — unless the parties stipulate or the court orders otherwise. That makes the earliest permissible hearing 10 days after the response deadline, or roughly 50 days after the motion is served.
This calculator computes the date in two steps, applying the Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.514 weekend/holiday rollover to each: first the response deadline (40 days after service, plus 5 if the motion was served by mail), then 10 days after that. Because each step is rolled independently, the result can differ by a day or two from simply adding 50 days. The earliest-hearing date is a floor — the court can always set a later hearing.
- A floor, not a fixed date The court routinely sets the hearing later; this is the soonest it may occur without a stipulation or order.
- Computed in two rolled steps Response deadline (40 days after service) → +10 days, each adjusted off weekends and holidays.
- Served by mail? Add 5 days to the response leg under Rule 2.514(b) by selecting “Service by mail” above.
Questions
- How soon can a summary judgment hearing be held in Florida?
- No earlier than 10 days after the response deadline, which is 40 days after service of the motion (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c)(5)) — about 50 days after the motion is served, unless the parties stipulate or the court orders otherwise.
- Why isn’t this just 50 days after the motion?
- Because each step is adjusted for weekends and holidays separately: the response deadline rolls to a business day first, and the 10-day hearing window is counted from that rolled date.