Before any civil action is brought for publication or broadcast, in a newspaper, periodical, or other medium, of a libel or slander, the plaintiff shall, at least 5 days before instituting such action, serve notice in writing on the defendant, specifying the article or broadcast and the statements therein which he or she alleges to be false and defamatory.
Fla. Stat. § 770.01
Notice condition precedent to action or prosecution for libel or slander
Applied in 13 court decisions — leading case 667 F. Supp. 1468 - Nelson v. Associated Press, Inc. (1987)
Most recently applied in Norkin v. Fla. Bar (April 2018)
History.--s. 1, ch. 16070, 1933; CGL 1936 Supp. 7064(1); s. 1, ch. 76-123; s. 1178, ch. 97-102.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Online Sunshine (Florida Legislature). Reproduced from public-domain Florida statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.