Florida Appeals Journal 38: How to get a stay pending a review

FLORIDA APPEALS JOURNAL™ JOURNAL ENTRY 38.2025 Recorded on July 11, 2025 Jennifer Carroll discusses the circumstances in which a stay may properly be sought pending a review of a judgment. She notes that it Is important to know and follow these procedures carefully. Below are excerpts from the Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure. 2. Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.310 (a) and (b) provides as follows: RULE 9.310. STAY PENDING REVIEW   (a) Application in Lower Tribunal. Except as provided by general law and in subdivision (b) of this rule, a party seeking to stay a final or nonfinal order pending review first shall file a motion in the lower tribunal, which shall have continuing jurisdiction, in its discretion, to grant, modify, or deny such relief. A stay pending review may be conditioned on the posting of a good and sufficient bond, other conditions, or both.   (b) Exceptions.   (1) Money Judgments. If the order is a judgment solely for the payment of money, a party may obtain an automatic stay of execution pending review, without the necessity of a motion or order, by posting a good and sufficient bond equal to the principal amount of the judgment plus twice the statutory rate of interest on judgments on the total amount on which the party has an obligation to pay interest. Multiple parties having common liability may file a single bond satisfying the above criteria. 3. Section 45.045, Florida Statutes, provides an exception to Rule 9.310(b) (1): 45.045 Limitations on supersedeas bond; exception.— (2) In any civil action brought under any legal theory, a party seeking a stay of execution of a judgment pending review of any amount may move the court to reduce the amount of a supersedeas bond required to obtain such a stay. The court, in the interest of justice and for good cause shown, may reduce the supersedeas bond or may set other conditions for the stay with or without a bond.   4. Pursuant to Section 45.045, Florida Statutes, this Court has discretion to enter a stay under such conditions as determined by the facts of this particular case. Legal Standard for Stay 7. Court has authority to grant a stay under the unique circumstances of each case. Fla. R. App. P. 9.310(a). This Court has “considerable latitude in controlling the circumstances under which the proceedings may be stayed pending review.” Pabian v. Pabian, 469 So.2d 189, 191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). Rule 9.310(a) states: (a) Application in Lower Tribunal. Except as provided by general law and in subdivision (b) of this rule, a party seeking to stay a final or nonfinal order pending review first must file a motion in the lower tribunal, which has continuing jurisdiction, in its discretion, to grant, modify, or deny such relief. A stay pending review may be conditioned on the posting of a good and sufficient bond, other conditions, or both.   8. In determining whether to grant a stay, this Court looks at (1) a likelihood of success on appeal; and (2) a likelihood of harm in absence of a stay. In Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando v. MMB Properties, 148 So.3d 810 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014), the Fifth District Court of Appeal held: To obtain a stay, the moving party must establish “(1) a likelihood of success on the merits, and (2) a likelihood of harm absent the entry of a stay.”   148 So.3d at 812. See also Sunbeam Television Corp. v. Clear Channel Metroplex, Inc., 117 So.3d 772 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). 9. These are the standards for a stay during pendency of an appeal. A litigant has to seek a stay in the trial court first. If stay is denied in trial court, then litigant can file a motion in the appellate court for review of the trial court's stay order. Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.310(f) is the authority for the motion for review: (f) Review. A party may seek review of a lower tribunal’s order entered under this rule by filing a motion in the court. The motion must be filed as a separate document. SEND ALL INQUIRIES TO [email protected] For educational purposes only. Not intended to be used as legal advice. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Music by Kevin MacLeod Werq Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Law Offices of Jennifer S. Carroll, P.A. is dedicated to advocating and protecting clients’ rights in state and federal appeals, post-trial proceedings, as well as pretrial and trial proceedings that involve resolution of significant legal issues. The firm’s mandate is to provide such representation at the highest quality for all clients. By the time a case reaches our firm, it is complicated. It either started that way, or it became difficult as a result of errors which occurred in the trial court proceedings. Our goal is to simplify these difficult cases and resolve them in the best interests of all clients. Law Offices of Jennifer S. Carroll, PA 1001 US-1 Jupiter, FL 33477 (561) 478-2102 (888) 302-1320