On December 31, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court rendered an opinion in
In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.1510, No. SC20-1490, aligning Florida’s rules of civil procedure with the supermajority of U.S. states and formally adopting the federal standard for summary judgment motions. The decision came on the heels of another case,
Wilsonart, LLC, et al. v. Lopez, No. SC19-1336 (Fla. Dec. 31, 2020), in which the Florida Supreme Court reviewed a trial court’s decision to weigh compelling video evidence against a conflicting eyewitness statement and grant summary judgment in the defendant’s favor.
In
Wilsonart, Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision on appeal, relying on the state standard that the “slightest doubt” as to the potential existence of a genuine issue of material fact may enable the nonmoving party’s claims to survive. Because there had been, technically, conflicting evidence, the court of appeal determined that the trial court’s entry of summary judgment had been inappropriate. The Fifth District Court of Appeal also certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court: whether video footage could conclusively negate a conflicting eyewitness account for the purposes of summary judgment.