RULES OF GENERAL PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION--AMENDMENT--REPRESENTATION BY SIGNER. The Court, by its own motion, amended Rule 2.515(d)(2) (Representation by Signer) "to require the signer of a document filed with Florida's courts to represent that the legal authorities identified exist and are accurately cited.' The amendment also expressly authorizes courts to impose appropriate sanctions for any filing inconsistent with' the representation a signer makes under rule 2.515(d)(2)" and specified that these sanctions may include "reprimand, contempt, striking of the document, dismissal of proceedings, costs, attorneys' fees, or other sanctions."
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EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS--WHISTLE BLOWERS--RETALIATION. The Court held that, "to prevail in a retaliation claim under section 448.103, Florida Statutes, alleging a violation of section 448.102(3), an employee must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer's activity, policy, or practice is in violation of law." An employee need not prove that an employer has already in fact violated the law. In so holding, the Court disapproved of district court decisions which held that an employee need only prove that he or she possessed a "good faith, objectively reasonable belief" that the objected-to actions were illegal.
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