Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 723.038 (2025)

Dispute settlement; mediation.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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723.038 Dispute settlement; mediation.—

(1) Either party may petition the division to appoint a mediator and initiate mediation proceedings, or the parties may agree to immediately select a mediator and initiate mediation proceedings pursuant to the criteria outlined in subsections (2) and (4).

(2) The division, upon receipt of a petition, shall appoint a qualified mediator to conduct mediation proceedings and notify the parties within 20 days after such appointment, unless the parties timely notify the division in writing that they have selected a mediator. A person appointed by the division or selected by the parties must be a qualified mediator from a list of circuit court mediators in each judicial circuit who has met training and educational requirements established by the Supreme Court. If such mediators are not available, the division or the parties may select a mediator from the list maintained by the Florida Growth Management Conflict Resolution Consortium. The division shall adopt rules of procedure to govern such proceedings in accordance with the rules of practice and procedure adopted by the Supreme Court. The division shall also establish, by rule, the fee to be charged by a mediator which shall not exceed the fee authorized by the circuit court.

(3) A mediator appointed by the division or selected by the parties shall comply with the rules adopted by the division. The mediator shall also notify the division in writing within 10 days after the conclusion of the mediation, that the mediation has been concluded.

(4) After the date of the last scheduled meeting held pursuant to s. 723.037(4), the parties to a dispute may agree to immediately select a mediator and initiate mediation proceedings pursuant to this section. The parties may accept the mediator appointed by the division or, within 30 days, select a mediator to mediate the dispute pursuant to subsection (2). The parties shall each pay a $250 filing fee to the mediator appointed by the division or selected by the parties within 30 days after the division notifies the parties of the appointment of the mediator. The $250 filing fee shall be used by the mediator to defray the hourly rate charged for mediation of the dispute. Any portion of the filing fee not used shall be refunded to the parties.

(5) The parties may agree to select their own mediator, and such mediation shall be governed by the rules of procedure established by the division. The parties, by agreement, may waive mediation, or the petitioning party may withdraw the petition prior to mediation. Upon the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator shall notify the division that the mediation has been concluded.

(6) No resolution arising from a mediation proceeding as provided for in s. 723.037 or this section shall be deemed final agency action. Any party, however, may initiate an action in the circuit court to enforce a resolution or agreement arising from a mediation proceeding which has been reduced to writing. The court shall consider such resolution or agreement to be a contract for the purpose of providing a remedy to the complaining party.

(7) Mediation pursuant to this section is an informal and nonadversarial process. Either party may submit to the opposing party at least 10 days prior to mediation a written request for information.

(8) Each party involved in the mediation proceeding has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any person present at the proceeding from disclosing, communications made during such proceeding, whether or not the dispute was successfully resolved. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent or inhibit the discovery or admissibility of any information which is otherwise subject to discovery or admission under applicable law or rules of court. There is no privilege as to communications made in furtherance of the commission of a crime or fraud or as part of a plan to commit a crime or a fraud. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to permit an individual to obtain immunity from prosecution for criminal conduct.

(9) A mediator appointed by the division or selected by the parties pursuant to this section has judicial immunity in the same manner and to the same extent as a judge.

History.—s. 1, ch. 84-80; s. 11, ch. 90-198; s. 9, ch. 92-148; s. 1, ch. 94-102; s. 2, ch. 2024-123.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2021 · leading case: Vill. Park Mobile Home Ass'n Inc. v. State, Dept. of Bus., 506 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987).

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Vill. Park Mobile Home Ass'n Inc. v. State, Dept. of Bus., 506 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). · cites it 4× “037(2), once the written notice is given by the park owner, a committee or a home owners' association shall meet with the park owner to discuss the intended change and, according to subsection (3), within 15 days of the meeting, the home owners, if they decide to contest the…”

Belcher v. Kier, 558 So. 2d 1039 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). “037 provides that if, after informal mediation about lot rental increases, there has resulted no successful conclusion, and 51% of the park tenants state in writing that the rent increase is unreasonable, the tenants are entitled to have the dispute submitted to formal mediation…”

Colonial Acres Mobile Homeowners Ass'n v. Wallach, 558 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). · cites it 2× “§ 723.038(2), Fla.Stat. (1985). The word unconscionable does not appear in the section on lot rental increases.”

Sun Valley Homeowners, Inc. v. Am. Land Lease, Inc., 927 So. 2d 259 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006). “The details of the mediation process are set forth in section 723.038. Section 723.0381 authorizes the filing of actions in circuit court when mediation has failed.”

Royal Palm Vill. Residents, Inc. v. Slider (M.D. Fla. 2021). · cites it 2× “” Fla. Stat. § 723.038 (1). The Act further provides that “[a]ny provision in the rental agreement is void and unenforceable to the extent that it attempts to waive or preclude the rights, remedies, or requirements set forth in this chapter or arising under law.”

Bahrakis v. Zimmerman (M.D. Fla. 2020). “Specifically, Defendants contend that the Florida Mobile Home Act, Florida Statute § 723.038(8), creates a privilege to protect and maintain the confidentiality of pre-suit mediation.”

Malco Indus., Inc. v. Featherock Homeowners Ass'n, 854 So. 2d 755 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). · cites it 2× “The dispute was resolved through a mediation proceeding conducted pursuant to section 723.038, Florida Statutes (2000).”

Lake Haven Mobile Home Owners, Inc. v. Orangeland Vistas, Inc., 408 F. Supp. 2d 1231 (M.D. Fla. 2006). “037(4), (5); § 723.038; § 723.0381. Notice to the board, consequently, is seminal for collective action, and unlike in the cited cases, the Defendants notified the Lake Haven’s Board.”

Gehman v. Gravis, 39 Fla. Supp. 2d 126 (Fla. Cir. Ct. 1990). “Additionally, although the procedure followed were not strictly in accordance with the statute, the parties were in effect attempting to act under the dispute settlement procedures authorized under Fla. Stat. 723.038 (1984 Supp.). The use of this procedure for subsequent years…”

— 723.038(2) — 2 cases

Vill. Park Mobile Home Ass'n Inc. v. State, Dept. of Bus., 506 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “037(2), once the written notice is given by the park owner, a committee or a home owners' association shall meet with the park owner to discuss the intended change and, according to subsection (3), within 15 days of the meeting, the home owners, if they decide to contest the…”

Colonial Acres Mobile Homeowners Ass'n v. Wallach, 558 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). “§ 723.038(2), Fla.Stat. (1985). The word unconscionable does not appear in the section on lot rental increases.”

— 723.038(8) — 1 case

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