FORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: FLORIDA CIRCUIT COURT JURISDICTION

The court presiding over any matter must have jurisdiction over the subject matter because it provides the court with “the power [to] lawfully… hear and determine a cause.” Cunningham v. Standard Guaranty Insurance Co., 630 So.2d 179 (Fla. 1994). “It is the power to lawfully conferred to deal with the general subject involved in the action.” Subject matter jurisdiction “does not depend upon the ultimate existence of a good cause.” Rather, “it is the power to adjudge concerning the general question involved.” Malone v. Meres, 109 So. 677 (Fla. 1926). It is “not dependent upon the state of facts which may appear in a particular case.” The Fort Lauderdale business litigation attorneys of the Mavrick Law Firm represent businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.

In Florida state courts, subject jurisdiction matter jurisdiction is often determined by the amount in controversy. While those amounts have changed over time, Florida circuit courts currently have subject matter jurisdiction over matters involving controversies exceeding $50,000. Fla. Stat. § 34.01. Florida circuit courts also have subject matter jurisdiction to hear lawsuits in equity, ejectment actions, and lawsuits involving the title and boundaries of real property. Fla. Stat. § 26.012. County courts, on the other hand, have subject matter jurisdiction to hear matters involving an amount in controversy of $50,000 or less. Fla. Stat. § 34.01. The court determines whether a litigant met the amount in controversy threshold thereby satisfying subject matter jurisdiction requirements by determining the amount claimed in the complaint, whether the amount claimed was claimed in good faith, and whether the amount claimed excludes interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. Lazow v. Amber B. Glasper, P.A., 390 So. 3d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Courts will not blindly accept a litigant’s subject matter jurisdiction allegations. When a party alleges the existence of subject matter jurisdiction but includes additional allegations contradicting those subject matter allegations, courts will refuse to hear the matter for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Sullivan v. Nova Univ., 613 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (The “jurisdictional minimum is not sufficient [to confer jurisdiction] where on the face of the allegation … it appears that the required minimum amount is actually not involved, or that the facts alleged cannot furnish any legal basis for the claim raised.”); Rappa v. Island Club W. Dev., Inc., 890 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (The “bare allegation of an amount in controversy exceeding $15,000 is insufficient to confer jurisdiction upon the circuit court because the facts alleged in the complaint demonstrate an amount that is substantially less than $15,000.”). In Lazow v. Amber B. Glasper, P.A., the plaintiff alleged the existence of subject matter jurisdiction in the circuit court generally by using boilerplate language to assert his claim exceeded the amount in controversy requirements. Lazow, 390 So. 3d 97. However, more specific allegations in the complaint revealed the amount in controversy was actually $20,000. In several allegations, the plaintiff asserted the defendant promised to pay a fee of $20,000 and breached the contract by refusing to pay the $20,000 fee. Therefore, the court determined “there [was] no good faith basis supporting the [plaintiff]’s allegation that the amount in controversy [was] exceeded $30,000.” The court determined it never had jurisdiction over the matter and vacated the judgment against the defendant.

The Fort Lauderdale business litigation attorneys of the Mavrick Law Firm represent businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.