On January 6, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court amended Fla. R. App. P. 9.130. Under the revised rule, which became effective on April 1st, parties may—as a matter of right—seek interlocutory appeal of orders granting or denying leave to amend a complaint to assert a claim for punitive damages. Prior to the amendment, relief from such an order could only be accomplished via a petition for writ of certiorari, which requires petitioners to show irreparable material injury and a departure from the essential requirements of the law. As explained in Justice Jorge Labarga’s dissent, the amended Rule 9.130 may result in delays in civil actions with punitive damages claims; hence, in the future, some plaintiffs may opt to forgo claims for punitive damages to avoid delays in bringing their cases to a final resolution.

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