It used to be that even if the time to serve a motion for rehearing had expired, your right to serve a motion to alter or amend a judgment may still be pending.  This is because the time to serve a motion to alter or amend a judgment was based on the entry of the judgment, while the time to serve a motion for rehearing was based on the date of filing of the judgment.  This was important because the entry of the judgment meant when the final judgment was recorded in the public records not when the final judgment was filed with the clerk of court.

However, the Florida Supreme Court recently amended Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.530(g) and replaced “15 days after entry of the judgment” with “15 days after the date of filing of the judgment.”  In re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Civil Proc. 1.530 & 1.535, 47 Fla. L. Weekly S203 (Fla. August 25, 2022).  Thus, the time to serve the motion to alter or amend a judgment is now the same as the time to serve the motion for rehearing. Don’t overlook this amendment.

Moreover, this amendment now closes an appellate loophole.  As the February 28, 2022 posting entitled “Beware of the Unrecorded Final Judgment” previously detailed, one use to be able to take great advantage of a parties failure to record the final judgment in the public records.  Now since the time to serve the motion to alter or amend is no longer based on the recording of the final judgment, this back door to an appeal has closed.