Legal Memorandum: Rehearing of a Summary Judgment Motion in FL

Issue: Under Florida law, is a court permitted to entertain a request for rehearing of a motion for summary judgment?

Rule 1.530(a) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a court may grant a rehearing of a motion for summary judgment and enter a new judgment.  The purpose of Rule 1.530 is “to give the trial court an opportunity to consider matters which it overlooked or failed to consider.”  Balmoral Condo. Ass’n v. Grimaldi, 107 So. 3d 1149, 1151 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3^rd Dist. 2013) (quoting Carollo v. Carollo, 920 So. 2d 16, 19 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3^rd Dist. (2004)) (emphasis added).  “[A] rehearing is a second consideration of a cause for the sole purpose of calling to the attention of the court any error, omission, or oversight that may have been committed in the first consideration. Upon the timely filing of a petition for rehearing, the court may reopen the case and reconsider any or all of the provisions of its final decree.”  Id. (quoting Langer v. Aerovias, S.A., 584 So. 2d 175, 176 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3^rd Dist. 1991)) (emphasis added).  The grounds for rehearing include that the final order conflicts with existing law or is simply wrong on the merits.  Id. 

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