In a civil case, after the appellate court issues its opinion or decision, the losing party may have the right to ask the appellate court for rehearing or clarification of the court’s decision. Also, if the decision was “per curiam” without a written opinion, the losing party may, in limited circumstances, be able to ask the court to write an opinion. In some cases, the losing party may also have the right to seek further review of a written opinion by a higher court through a request for “certification.” In very rare cases, a party may be able to ask for “rehearing en banc,” meaning rehearing by all of the judges on that appellate court, not just the judges that decided the case. Motions for rehearing, clarification, certification, written opinion, and rehearing en banc are the main types of post-decision motions. See Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.330 and 9.331.
A party who is unhappy with an appellate court’s decision or order can usually file a motion for rehearing and/or a motion for clarification, as long as certain requirements are met. However, an order of the Florida Supreme Court that grants or denies discretionary review under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.120 ordinarily cannot be challenged by a rehearing or other motion.
A party who wants to file a motion for rehearing, clarification, certification, written opinion, or rehearing en banc generally must do so within 15 days of the appellate decision or order. If a party files a post-decision motion, then the other party is generally allowed 10 days to serve a response in which he or she can explain to the appellate court why its decision or opinion should stand and why the other party’s post-decision motion should be denied. Ordinarily, no further reply to such a response is permitted by the party that originally filed the post-decision motion, unless the appellate court orders it.
Unless the case is in the Florida Supreme Court, there are generally five post-decision motions that a party may be able to use. These motions are listed in Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.330 and 9.331. They are:
• a motion for clarification
• a motion for a written opinion, if there wasn’t one and the party believes it would provide a valid basis for review by the Florida Supreme Court;
• a motion for certification; and
• a motion for rehearing en banc.
There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if a new opinion, resulting from a first rehearing motion, changes the original opinion, then a party may file a second rehearing motion to discuss that change. This Chapter describes the basics of how and when to begin the post-decision motion process.
