What is a “Legal Holiday” in Florida?
This is an important question and one on which few people, including real estate agents and attorneys, are fully up-to-date. Time periods for performance of obligations, or for cancellation or withdrawals of purchase contracts are counted based on the number of days on the contract AND the contract standard used for calculating the days. Saturday, Sunday and Legal Holidays are often excluded, and the date of performance or deadline is often the following business day if a deadline falls on one of these days.
You may think that “everyone knows” what a “Legal Holiday” is but you will probably be in for a surprise if you are not careful.
In Florida real estate purchase transactions are governed by Florida Statutes. Here is a list.
683.01 Legal holidays.—
(1) The legal holidays, which are also public holidays, are the following:
(a) Sunday, the first day of each week.
(b) New Year’s Day, January 1.
(c) Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15.
(d) Birthday of Robert E. Lee, January 19.
(e) Lincoln’s Birthday, February 12.
(f) Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday, February 15.
(g) Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.
(h) Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day, the fourth Thursday in March.
(i) Good Friday.
(j) Pascua Florida Day, April 2.
(k) Confederate Memorial Day, April 26.
(l) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
(m) Birthday of Jefferson Davis, June 3.
(n) Flag Day, June 14.
(o) Independence Day, July 4.
(p) Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
(q) Columbus Day and Farmers’ Day, the second Monday in October.
(r) Veterans’ Day, November 11.
(s) General Election Day.
(t) Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
(u) Christmas Day, December 25.
(v) Shrove Tuesday, sometimes also known as “Mardi Gras,” in counties where carnival associations are organized for the purpose of celebrating the same.
(2) Whenever any legal holiday shall fall upon a Sunday, the Monday next following shall be deemed a public holiday for all and any of the purposes aforesaid.
I’ll bet you’ve never heard of half of these Legal Holidays, yet each one is a day exempted from the calculation when you are trying to determine the important dates for contract fulfillment etc.
To make matters even more confusing, the Legal Holidays stated above are NOT the “Legal Holidays” you would need to use, as a Florida Landlord, in calculating the expiration date of the mandatory “3-Day Notice” you must give a delinquent tenant before proceeding to file suit for eviction! That’s because the Florida Landlord-Tenant Act defines “Legal Holidays” not by reference to 683.01 above but in the following language:Florida Statues 83.43(10) “Legal holiday” means holidays observed by the clerk of the court.Here is a list of Holidays observed by the Miami-Dade District Courts. Note that this will vary from county to county and from year-to-year:
| The following legal holidays are officially observed by Miami-Dade County government. OBSERVED HOLIDAYS New Year’s Day (Jan 1) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January) President’s Day (February) Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (May) Memorial Day (May) Juneteenth Day (June) Independence Day (July 4) Labor Day (September) Columbus Day (October) Veterans Day (November) Thanksgiving (November) Day after Thanksgiving (Friday after Thanksgiving November) Christmas Day (December 25) |