Affidavits and Declarations Used for Summary Judgment

When a party moves or opposes a motion for summary judgment, the party will include an affidavit or declaration. The affidavit or declaration MUST be legally sufficient to have any weight. Do not take it from me. Take it from the recent appellate decision in Savoy v. American Platinum Property & Casualty Insurance, 48 Fla.L.Weekly D1241a (Fla. 4th DCA 2023) where the appellate court held the movant’s affidavit was insufficient because it was not based on the affiant’s personal knowledge. The legally insufficient reason served as a basis for the appellate court to reverse the summary judgment in favor of...

19 September

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Affidavit Used to Support or Defend Against Summary Judgment

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

I recently discussed a case found here where the appellate court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff finding that the affidavit proffered by the defendant did NOT create a genuine issue of material fact. A major reason the appellate court affirmed summary judgment is because an affidavit cannot be based on hearsay. The affidavit MUST be based on personal knowledge that is more than conclusory in nature and lays a factual predicate. This is important to remember when moving for summary judgment and defending against a summary judgment to ensure your affidavits are done correctly and you are...

31 December

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Summary Judgment Must be Based on Admissible Evidence

Posted by David Adelstein

in Evidence

A party moving for summary judgment must rely on admissible evidence in the record. Arlen Realty, Inc. v. Penn Mut. Life Ins. Co., 386 So.2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). Parties oftentimes submit an affidavit in support of a motion for summary judgment in order to get certain testimony or documentary evidence into the record. When a party submits an affidavit to get a document into the record, the party still needs to authenticate the document and lay its foundation in the affidavit. See Alavi v. Garcia, 140 So.3d 1141 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014) (party required to lay foundation for...