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Legal information to help you navigate Florida's courts — not legal advice.

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OLSI Visual Guide · 04

Defending a Civil Case

What to do after you've been served — the 20-day clock, the motion to dismiss, the answer and affirmative defenses, and the procedural traps that decide cases before the merits.

11 min · Captioned · Florida · Current to 2026

Responding to a Lawsuit in Florida: Defending a Civil Case

A visual guide to defending a civil case in Florida — the 20-day deadline to respond, the motion to dismiss under Rule 1.140(b), the answer, affirmative defenses, and counterclaims. Free from OLSI.

This visual walkthrough is published free of charge by Open Law Services Institute (OLSI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, EIN 42-2351258. It accompanies our full written guide, which is also available as a downloadable PDF. Every OLSI resource is written and reviewed by licensed attorneys and released under an open Creative Commons licence.

Open knowledge.Greater justice.

Defending a Civil Case

Responding to a Lawsuit in Florida: Defending a Civil Case

Open knowledge.
Greater justice.