Don’t Forget to Move for Rehearing if Challenging Factual Findings in Final Judgment
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530(a) provides: “To preserve for appeal a challenge to the failure of the trial court to make required findings of fact in the final judgment, a party must raise that issue in a motion for rehearing under this rule. On a motion for a rehearing of matters heard without a jury, including summary judgments, the court may open the judgment if one has been entered, take additional testimony, and enter a new judgment.”
In a recent case, Platt v. Cape Marine Services, Inc., 50 Fl. L. Weekly D2315a (Fla. 5th DCA 2025), a party appealed an award of attorney’s fees. The argument was that the final judgment that awarded fees failed to include factual findings. However, the appellant (party appealing) did not move for rehearing. This meant the party did not property preserve the issue for appeal under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.530: “As [appellant] did not file a motion for rehearing challenging the final judgment’s lack of Rowe factual findings, he did not preserve this claim or argument for appellate review.” Platt, supra.
Don’t forget to move for a rehearing if you are challenging factual findings in a final judgment.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.
