1(1) County courts shall have original jurisdiction:

(a) In all misdemeanor cases not cognizable by the circuit courts.

(b) Of all violations of municipal and county ordinances.

(c) Of all actions at law, except those within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit courts, in which the matter in controversy does not exceed, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney fees:

1. If filed on or before December 31, 2019, the sum of $15,000.

2. If filed on or after January 1, 2020, the sum of $30,000.

3. If filed on or after January 1, 2023, the sum of $50,000.

(d) Of disputes occurring in the homeowners’ associations as described in s. 720.311(2)(a), which shall be concurrent with jurisdiction of the circuit courts.

By February 1, 2021, the Office of the State Courts Administrator shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must make recommendations regarding the adjustment of county court jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, consideration of the claim value of filings in county court and circuit court, case events, timeliness in processing cases, and any fiscal impact to the state as a result of adjusted jurisdictional limits. The clerks of the circuit court and county court shall provide claim value data and necessary case event data to the office to be used in development of the report. The report must also include a review of fees to ensure that the court system is adequately funded and a review of the appellate jurisdiction of the district courts and the circuit courts, including the use of appellate panels by circuit courts.

(2) The county courts shall have jurisdiction previously exercised by county judges’ courts other than that vested in the circuit court by s. 26.012, except that county court judges may hear matters involving dissolution of marriage under the simplified dissolution procedure pursuant to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure or may issue a final order for dissolution in cases where the matter is uncontested, and the jurisdiction previously exercised by county courts, the claims court, small claims courts, small claims magistrates courts, magistrates courts, justice of the peace courts, municipal courts, and courts of chartered counties, including but not limited to the counties referred to in ss. 9, 10, 11, and 24, Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. (6)(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1968.

(3) Judges of county courts shall also be committing trial court judges. Judges of county courts shall be coroners unless otherwise provided by law or by rule of the Supreme Court.

(4) Judges of county courts may hear all matters in equity involved in any case within the jurisdictional amount of the county court, except as otherwise restricted by the State Constitution or the laws of Florida.

(5) A county court is a trial court.

History.—s. 6, ch. 3730, 1887; RS 1572, 2833; GS 2034, 3890; s. 1, ch. 6463, 1913; RGS 3325, 3326, 5985; CGL 5169, 5170, 8278; s. 3, ch. 63-559; s. 9, ch. 72-404; s. 1, ch. 77-135; s. 1, ch. 80-165; s. 1, ch. 90-269; s. 3, ch. 2000-336; s. 4, ch. 2004-11; s. 31, ch. 2004-265; s. 29, ch. 2004-345; s. 25, ch. 2004-353; s. 9, ch. 2019-58.

1Note.—Section 31, ch. 2019-58, provides that “[t]he amendments to the jurisdiction of a court made by this act shall apply with respect to the date of filing the cause of action, regardless of when the cause of action accrued.”