Florida
In Florida the federal claim under Section 1983 has four years and needs no notice. A state-law claim against a city, a county, a sheriff or the State needs a written notice within three years (two for wrongful death), a six-month wait, and suit within four years, and what the government can be made to pay is capped by statute at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. This page goes through each rule, the officer's personal liability, the 2026 bill that would have raised the caps and was vetoed, and what Florida law does not provide.
Florida gives a longer clock and a smaller recovery against the government than New York or New Jersey. The federal claim carries most Florida cases, because the state-law claim against the agency is capped and the officer is personally liable under state law only for bad faith or malice. Our Florida matters are handled through the firm's Aventura office, by attorneys admitted in Florida, in the state courts and in the federal districts that sit in the Eleventh Circuit.
The federal claim: four years
A Section 1983 claim in Florida is governed by the state's residual four-year personal injury period. The Eleventh Circuit said so in a published decision, Doe v. Swearingen, No. 21-10644 (11th Cir. Oct. 21, 2022), citing Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3). The federal accrual rules apply: a false arrest claim accrues at arraignment or release (Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)), a malicious prosecution or fabricated-evidence claim when the criminal case ends without a conviction (McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019)), a force claim at the incident. No notice is required for the federal claim (Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988)).
A note on the statute's numbering
Florida rewrote § 95.11 in 2023. In the current statute the residual category for "any action not specifically provided for" sits at § 95.11(3)(o), still four years, intentional torts at § 95.11(3)(n), and negligence moved to § 95.11(5)(a) with a two-year period for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. We have found no Eleventh Circuit decision after 2023 that re-maps Section 1983 to the new lettering, so this site cites § 95.11(3) without a letter and states the four-year period that Doe v. Swearingen applied. A lawyer should confirm the period against the current statute for any claim that accrued after March 2023.
Florida sits in the Eleventh Circuit (28 U.S.C. § 41), and its qualified immunity law is that circuit's. The doctrine is the same one the qualified immunity page describes: an officer is shielded unless the conduct violated a clearly established right (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)), and the court may decide the "clearly established" question first (Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009)).
The state claim: notice, the six-month wait, four years
Florida has waived sovereign immunity for tort claims against the State, its agencies and its subdivisions, including cities, counties and sheriffs, on conditions set out in Fla. Stat. § 768.28. The condition that matters first is notice. The claimant must present the claim in writing to the agency and, except where the agency is a municipality or a county, to the Department of Financial Services, within three years after the claim accrues, or two years for a wrongful death claim (§ 768.28(6)). The agency's failure to make final disposition of the claim within six months is treated as a denial, and suit may not be filed before then. The action itself must be brought within four years (§ 768.28(14)).
The Florida numbers
Three years from accrual to present the written claim to the agency, and to the Department of Financial Services unless the agency is a city or a county. Two years for wrongful death. Six months after the notice before suit, unless the agency denies the claim sooner. Four years from accrual to sue (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6), (14)). Because the six-month wait sits inside the four years, a notice presented late in the third year leaves time; a notice presented in the fourth year may not.
The caps, and the 2026 veto
What the government pays on a state-law claim is capped. Damages against the State and its agencies and subdivisions are limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident; the excess of any judgment above those caps is payable only by a claim bill passed by the Legislature; and no punitive damages or prejudgment interest may be awarded against the government (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)(a)). Those figures are statutory caps on damages against the government, not settlement figures and not a measure of any case.
The Legislature tried to raise them in 2026. HB 145 would have lifted the caps to $350,000 per person and $500,000 per incident for causes of action accruing on or after October 1, 2026. It passed the House 104 to 7 on January 15, 2026, and the Senate 36 to 0 on March 10, 2026, and the Governor vetoed it on June 30, 2026 (Florida Senate bill page, HB 145 (2026)). The caps stand at $200,000 and $300,000. We will change this page if the Legislature acts again.
The caps do not touch the federal claim. Section 1983 damages against an officer in a personal capacity are not limited by § 768.28, punitive damages are available against the individual officer though never against the municipality (City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, 453 U.S. 247 (1981)), and a prevailing plaintiff may recover attorney's fees (42 U.S.C. § 1988(b)). That is why the federal claim carries a Florida case.
The officer's personal liability under state law
Under Florida law an officer is not personally liable in tort for an act within the scope of employment unless the officer "acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property"; otherwise the exclusive remedy is against the agency, subject to the caps (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(9)(a)). In practice the state-law case is pleaded both ways, against the agency for what its officer did within the scope of employment and against the officer for bad faith or malice, and the facts decide which survives. The federal claim against the officer does not depend on that showing; it depends on the constitutional violation and on qualified immunity.
What Florida law does not provide
Two things a Florida client often asks about do not exist. The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 covers discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations (Fla. Stat. § 760.01); it is not a police misconduct statute and is not an analogue of Section 1983 or of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act. And there is no damages action directly under the Florida Constitution for police misconduct against the State, its agencies or its employees in their official capacity (Garcia v. Reyes, 697 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)). The claims available are the federal one under Section 1983 and the state torts under § 768.28. The state law claims page compares the three states.
| Claim | Pre-suit step | Suit due | Ceiling | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 1983, against the officers and (through Monell) the city or county | None | 4 years from accrual | None by statute; punitive damages against the officer only | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3); Doe v. Swearingen (11th Cir. 2022); City of Newport |
| State tort claim against the State, a city, a county or a sheriff | Written claim within 3 years (2 for wrongful death) to the agency and, except for a city or county, DFS; suit not before 6 months | 4 years from accrual | $200,000 per person, $300,000 per incident; no punitive damages or prejudgment interest | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)(a), (6), (14) |
| State tort claim against the officer personally | Same notice | 4 years | Only for bad faith, malicious purpose, or wanton and willful disregard | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(9)(a) |
The dollar figures in this table are statutory caps on damages against the government under Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)(a), unchanged after the June 30, 2026 veto of HB 145. They are not settlements, results or estimates.
The Aventura office
Florida matters are handled through the firm's office at 18851 NE 29th Avenue, Suite 200, Aventura, FL 33180, (754) 258-3270. Mikhail Usher is admitted in Florida. The first conversation is the same as in Brooklyn: the date, the agency, the kind of incident, and whether a criminal charge is open. If a criminal charge is pending, talk to your defense lawyer before describing the arrest to anyone; the criminal case and civil case page explains why, and the first week page has the list of what to preserve now.
Every deadline
New York, New Jersey, Florida and the federal agencies, by agency and by claim, in one table.
Deadlines →New Jersey
Two years, the Tort Claims Act notice, the Civil Rights Act, and qualified immunity under state law.
New Jersey →Damages and fees
Compensatory, nominal and punitive damages, attorney's fees under Section 1988, and the caps that apply only to the government.
Damages →Common questions
How long do I have in Florida?
Four years for the Section 1983 claim against the officers, from accrual, with no notice required. For the state-law claim against the agency, a written notice to the agency (and, unless the agency is a city or county, to the Department of Financial Services) within three years of accrual, two years for wrongful death, then a six-month wait, then suit within four years. Florida's clocks are the longest of the three states this site covers, which is not a reason to wait.
What are the caps?
Damages against the State and its agencies and subdivisions are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident under Fla. Stat. 768.28(5)(a). Those are statutory caps on what the government pays, not settlement figures. Anything above the caps is payable only through a claim bill passed by the Legislature. The caps do not apply to the federal claim against the officers personally.
Did the caps go up in 2026?
No. HB 145 would have raised them to $350,000 and $500,000 for causes of action accruing on or after October 1, 2026. It passed the House 104 to 7 and the Senate 36 to 0 and was vetoed by the Governor on June 30, 2026. The caps are unchanged.
Can I sue the officer personally under Florida law?
Only if the officer acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety or property. Otherwise the exclusive state-law remedy is against the agency. The federal claim under Section 1983 is against the officer personally regardless, subject to qualified immunity.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.