Florida Supreme Court Changes Mediation Agreement Signing Requirements

On February 6, the Florida Supreme Court issued various amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, including amending Rule 1.730 (“Completion of Mediation”).

Prior to the amendments, Rule 1.730 required an agreement reached during a court-ordered mediation be reduced to writing and "signed by the parties and their counsel." In the past, when either a party or their attorney failed to execute the agreement, this had led to enforceability problems.

In amending Rule 1,730, the Court deleted the requirement that counsel for each party must sign in a court-ordered mediation. Significantly, the amendments also now allow a party's representative who has full authority to settle to sign in place of the party.

These amendments become effective April 1, 2025.

For the full set of amendments, see SC2024-0774 Opinion