The Florida Bar's Environmental and Land Use Law Section "Administrative Adjudication: Decisions Affecting Substantial Interests"
November 30, 2022
By: Sidney C. Bigham, III
The Florida Bar
This article explains the administrative adjudicatory process affecting “substantial interests”
available under the Florida Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), chapter 120 of the Florida
Statutes. A substantial interest hearing, also called a section 120.569 or 120.57 proceeding, begins when an agency takes some action with regard to a party. These hearings are adversarial in nature and bear many similarities to civil bench trials.
