Periodically, we receive a pleading that befuddles me. That is rare, but it happens. Those require a step back, pause, and ponder. We strive to comprehend and respond.
More often, we receive pleadings sprinkled with mistakes and diversions that, while distracting are easily overlooked. The best examples are misspellings and grammar errors (seriously, who does not have spell check in 2025?). One of the persistent distractions noticed is references to "this Quart." The Florida OJCC is an administrative agency. It is not empowered or even mentioned in Article V. of the Florida Constitution (titled "Judiciary").
Sorry for the misstatement above, I mean "this Court," not "Quart." Some will scoff that "Quart" is ridiculous, and they would be correct. But "Court" is just as absurd.
Practice hint: employing the adjective "honorable" before either Court or Quart does nothing to remedy the fallacious foundation or justify the misstatement.
So, one might candidly ask: "What do we call you?" The OJCC is an agency, and thus "this Agency" would be accurate. The "O" in OJCC stands for "Office," and thus "this Office" is also accurate. If you keep calling me Superman in front of your client, she/he/they might come to assume I can leap tall buildings. By calling me a Quart, you may likewise create expectations of my authority that exceed reality. You might even convince yourself of some mistaken premises. The application of rules is one example.
The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure apply to proceedings in the state courts (Article V.). They are made by the Court and govern the processes within court authority or jurisdiction. The first of them, Rule 1.010 explains how/when they are used: "in the circuit courts and county courts."
Practice hint: the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply in workers' compensation proceedings unless the Chapter 60Q-6 Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications specifically adopt or incorporate those rules. It is a short list.
Let's be specific. The only Chapter 60Q-6 Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications rules that incorporate or adopt the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are:
- 60Q6.114(2)(a) "as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure"
- 60Q6.114(3) "as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure"
- 60Q6.114(4) "as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure"
- 60Q6.114(5) "as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure"
A lawyer who files a pleading alleging generally that the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are globally incorporated in the "Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications" or the "Q-rules" is making a misstatement of the law. To be clear, that statement is not true.
For the sake of the few readers who need to catch up at this point, let's all remember that "misstatement" means "the act of expressing a fact that is not correct." Interesting that the expression of a "not correct" fact is a "misstatement." Section 440.105(4)(b) similarly addresses any knowing "false" (that is "not correct") or even "misleading" "statement for the purpose of obtaining or denying any benefit." This applies, it seems, to "any person."
That is an "any person" caution worthy of consideration by all. Nonetheless, for lawyers, who are not just "any person," but persons of great sophistication and education, there are also the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Rule 4-3.3. This rule precludes lawyers from
- mak(ing) a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal
- fail(ing) to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal
No, there is no potential that anyone will ever get in any trouble for calling this Office/Agency a "Quart" or a "court." But making a representation that The Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications has in some manner globally incorporated the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure is false, misleading, and inappropriate. Such a misstatement that those rules globally apply in these proceedings is troublesome.
For clarity, the following rules of court also do not apply in workers' compensation proceedings unless specifically incorporated in The Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications:
- Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
- Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration.
- Probate Rules.
- Rules of Traffic Court.
- Small Claim Rules.
- Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
- Family Law Rules of Procedure.
Each of these is a set of rules adopted by the Florida Courts. Of all of them, only the discovery rules of the Civil Rules are adopted in The Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications, and only the disqualification rule from the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration is. These are specific and clear adoptions.
W. Edwards Deming, eons ago, uttered the now famous “In God we trust; all others must bring data.” Litigants and litigators would be well advised to follow a similar "bring authority" in their pleadings and arguments. Nonetheless, that should be tempered with the caution of bringing relevant and applicable authority.
Practice hint: The California Rules of Civil Procedure also do not apply in Florida workers' compensation disputes. Nonetheless, there may be some nuggets in those rules that support the outcome you seek. If so, cite those rules, argue the policy, and, of course, acknowledge that "while these rules do not control, the policy is persuasive because ...." But don't argue that the California Rules are globally incorporated in the Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications.
I can hear the little old men in the balcony screaming right now. They are likely saying "THIS IS PICAYUNISH AND IRRELEVANT." They may be right and probably are. But one might consider that the path to big misrepresentations and mistakes begins and grows in the greenhouse of small ones repeated without consideration or reflection.
File this thought away: The process in Florida workers' compensation is defined and delimited in the administrative rules: Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications. Only where those incorporate others (see above) are those others controlling. There is plenty of room in any dispute for good lawyering and sound arguments. But there is danger in statements of fact that are not true.
