Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What is summary judgment in a Florida family law case? This is a judgment by the court that there are no genuine issues of material fact to litigate, and therefore trial is not necessary on a claim, so the court is summarily determining the merits of the case. Summary judgment might be appropriate, for example, where a marital settlement agreement states alimony is non-modifiable, and then a party files a petition to modify. This type of judgment was an issue in the case Meruelo v. Meruelo, 3D24-0992 (Fla. 3d DCA May 28, 2025).
In what appears to be a divorce case, no background information is given. However, it appears the husband filed a motion for summary judgment on certain claims in the case, and it was granted. The wife appealed. The appellate court affirmed, holding “Because the precise claims at issue were previously litigated in a related declaratory action, we find the trial court properly granted summary judgment and affirm. See Pearce v. Sandler, 219 So. 3d961, 965 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (‘Collateral Estoppel precludes re-litigating an issue where the same issue has been fully litigated by the parties . . . and a final decision has been rendered by a court.’)”
Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to determine how the law may apply to the facts of your case.