When must a Florida party show written good cause before a lack-of-prosecution hearing?

Read the actual dismissal notice and confirmed hearing date.

Review the record, preceding inactivity, notice service and any issued or approved stay.

Submit the written good-cause showing with at least five eligible earlier days and preserve filing and service.

1. Read the actual dismissal notice and confirmed hearing date.
2. Count backward from the actual hearing under Rules 1.090(a) and 2.514(a)(2),(5). Exclude the hearing day. Because the stated period is fewer than seven days, omit intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. Preserve at least five eligible earlier days and review extra clerk closures separately.
3. Check the observed statutory holidays, actual clerk calendar and chief-justice directions.
4. Complete the required act with the proper court or recipient.

Apply the observed New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day holidays. Section 110.117 observes Saturday holidays on the preceding Friday and Sunday holidays on the following Monday. Rule 2.514 also includes clerk-observed holidays and days designated by the chief justice or chief judge. An ineligible final day moves in the counting direction. The bundled Florida calendar covers 2026 through 2028. Verify additional closures and chief-justice extensions separately.

Fictitious example

Fictitious facts. The court has reasonably noticed an actual dismissal hearing. The written showing uses the confirmed date. The established event is August 2, 2027. No mail-only addition, further clerk closure or changed court period applies.

Fictitious facts. Establish the stated procedure and actual event separately. No mail-only addition, further clerk holiday, tolling motion, chief-justice extension or different actual court order is assumed.

Record, notice, stay and hearing conditions all matter

Rule 1.420(e) requires no activity on the face of the record during the ten months immediately before notice service and none during the sixty days immediately after service. A stay issued or approved before the sixty-day period expires prevents that dismissal branch. The court acts after reasonable notice and considers timely written good cause. Mere inaction for less than one year is insufficient cause for dismissal.

The showing must be written and timely

Rule 1.420(e) requires good cause in writing at least five days before the hearing why the action should remain pending. An oral explanation at the hearing does not replace the specified written showing. A timely document alone does not establish sufficient cause.

A changed hearing requires a separate review

Use the actual reasonably noticed dismissal hearing, not a predicted hearing or the sixty-day endpoint. If the court changes the setting or directions, review the new order and preserve earlier performed acts instead of assuming automatic relief.

Dismissal conferral and other motion duties differ

Rule 1.202(c)(9) expressly exempts a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute from conferral. That exemption does not remove the written good-cause requirement, reasonable notice or required filing and service.

• This page does not establish a valid referral, actual court setting, sufficient good cause, settlement authority or court enforcement.
• Check the operative edition, actual notice, record activity, motions, interruptions, orders and additional closures.

• Read the actual dismissal notice and confirmed hearing date.
• Review the record, preceding inactivity, notice service and any issued or approved stay.
• Submit the written good-cause showing with at least five eligible earlier days and preserve filing and service.
• Rule 1.420(e) requires no activity on the face of the record during the ten months immediately before notice service and none during the sixty days immediately after service. A stay issued or approved before the sixty-day period expires prevents that dismissal branch. The court acts after reasonable notice and considers timely written good cause. Mere inaction for less than one year is insufficient cause for dismissal.
• Rule 1.420(e) requires good cause in writing at least five days before the hearing why the action should remain pending. An oral explanation at the hearing does not replace the specified written showing. A timely document alone does not establish sufficient cause.
• Use the actual reasonably noticed dismissal hearing, not a predicted hearing or the sixty-day endpoint. If the court changes the setting or directions, review the new order and preserve earlier performed acts instead of assuming automatic relief.
• Rule 1.202(c)(9) expressly exempts a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute from conferral. That exemption does not remove the written good-cause requirement, reasonable notice or required filing and service.
• Rule 1.080(b) incorporates Rule 2.525 filing. Attorneys ordinarily file through the portal or designated electronic facility. An eligible unrepresented party may elect electronic filing; prescribed paper exceptions remain. Preserve the successful filing timestamp under Rule 2.525(e). Rule 2.514(a)(4) ordinarily sets 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time for electronic filing or service by any means, and scheduled clerk closing for nonelectronic filing. Complete filing and required service as separate acts. A computed date does not establish successful submission, valid original process or sufficient pleading. A written showing must reach the prescribed procedure at least five eligible days before the actual hearing; the court determines its sufficiency.