§1.0.00 | INTRODUCTION1,2
A party may file a motion in an appellate court to resolve any matter that is not addressed by some other remedy established by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Rule 9.300(a) states that “[u]nless otherwise prescribed by these rules, an application for an order or other relief available under these rules shall be made by filing a motion therefor.”4 This broad statement authorizes the use of motions in a variety of situations.
Despite the broad scope of Rule 9.300(a), the parties should attempt to minimize the need for filing motions in an appellate court. Motion practice is necessarily more limited in appellate courts than it is in trial courts. A final judgment is entered at the trial level only after many issues have been resolved through the pretrial and trial stages of the proceeding by orders and rulings on motions. In contrast, the merits of an appeal can be decided without preliminary rulings or decisions. The parties conceivably could obtain a decision on the merits of a well-presented appeal without filing a single motion.
Given these differences, the appellate courts repeatedly have cautioned lawyers to exercise restraint when filing motions in appellate proceedings.5 Many of the motions filed in appellate courts are unnecessary.
Footnotes
2. See id. § 14.1 for an introduction on motions.
3. Fla. R. App. P. 9.300 (2001).
4. Id. 9.300(a).
5. Sarasota County v. Ex, 645 S.2d 7, 7–8 (Fla. Dist. App. 2d 1994); Perez v. Perez, 769 S.2d 389, 392 (Fla. Dist. App. 3d 1999); Dubowitz v. Cent. Village E., 381 S.2d 252, 254 (Fla. Dist. App. 4th 1979). Motions should not be used to present argument that can be presented in the briefs. Slizyk v. Smilack, 734 S.2d 1166, 1167 (Fla. Dist. App. 5th 1999).
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