Florida 5 Judicial Circuit (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Sumter) Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

Counsel—not support or paralegal personnel—must confer by telephone and/or in person on every requested motion in limine before the court sets it for hearing.

Before setting the Motions in Limine for hearing before the Court, counsel, not support nor paralegal personnel, must meet either by telephone and/or in person and confer on each and every requested Motion in Limine.

Counsel must meet and confer after filing and serving the detailed Daubert motion, and file a certification of that meeting by the Notice of Hearing.

Once the detailed motion has been filed and served on opposing counsel, counsel must meet and confer. A certification of the meeting pursuant to this order must be filed before, or no later than, the Notice of Hearing.

Before filing the specified discovery motions, counsel must confer and correspond with opposing counsel in a good-faith effort to resolve the issues by agreement.

Before filing a Motion to Compel pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P.1.380, or a Motion for Protective Order pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(c), counsel shall confer and correspond with counsel for the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the issues raised,

A motion for summary judgment must be set for a hearing.

For example, under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510, Motions for Summary Judgment must be set for hearing.

Parties must attempt to resolve disputes before filing or scheduling a motion, and all nondispositive motions must include a good-faith meet-and-confer certificate.

“Meet and Confer”: Parties/counsel shall attempt to resolve any disputes prior to filing a motion or scheduling it for hearing. All motions (other than dispositive motions) shall contain a certificate that a good faith effort has been made to resolve the dispute prior to filing the motion.

Discovery-content motions are also subject to the meet-and-confer requirement.

Also, don’t forget the meet and confer requirement from 4(b) above.

Before filing or scheduling a motion for hearing, counsel must attempt to resolve the dispute, and every nondispositive motion must include a good-faith meet-and-confer certificate.

b. “Meet and Confer”: Pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202, parties/counsel shall attempt to resolve any disputes prior to filing a motion or scheduling it for hearing. All motions (other than dispositive motions) shall contain a certificate that a good faith effort has been made to resolve the dispute prior to filing the motion.

Discovery-content motions remain subject to the stated meet-and-confer requirement.

Also, don’t forget the meet and confer requirement from 4(b) above.

Before filing a motion, the movant must make a good-faith effort to confer with the opposing party, subject to the listed exceptions.

Before filing a motion, except for a motion for injunctive relief, for judgment on the pleadings, for summary judgment, to dismiss or to permit maintenance of a class action, to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or to involuntarily dismiss an action, the movant must confer with the opposing party in a good-faith effort to resolve the issues raised in the motion.

A mandatory meet-and-confer process applies before scheduling a hearing on motions in the circuit civil division, except for the listed motion types.

A mandatory meet and confer process is hereby established, as set forth below, for all motions to be set for hearing in the circuit civil division and to occur before scheduling the hearing except for the following motions: injunctive relief without notice; judgment on the pleadings; summary judgment; or to permit maintenance of a class action.

Counsel with settlement authority must confer before hearing scheduling, include a Certificate of Compliance in the Notice of Hearing, and the counsel scheduling the hearing is responsible for arranging the conference.

Counsel with full authority to resolve the matter shall confer before scheduling the hearing on the motion to attempt to resolve or otherwise narrow the issues raised in the motion, and include a Certificate of Compliance (attached hereto as "Exhibit A") that the conference has occurred in the Notice of Hearing filed with the court. It shall be the responsibility of counsel who schedules the hearing to arrange the conference.

A conferral must be a substantive in-person or telephone conversation conducted in good faith; fax, email, or letter exchanges of ultimatums do not constitute conferral.

The term "confer" requires a substantive conversation in person or by telephone in a good faith effort to resolve the motion without the need to schedule a hearing, and does not envision an exchange of ultimatums by fax, e-mail or letter.

The first compliance option requires a certificate stating that a lawyer with settlement authority had a substantive pre-hearing conversation with opposing counsel but could not resolve the motion.

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a lawyer in my firm with full authority to resolve this matter had a substantive conversation in person or by telephone with opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve this motion before the motion was noticed for hearing but the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

The second compliance option requires a certificate stating that a lawyer with settlement authority made good-faith attempts to contact opposing counsel in person or by telephone before the motion was noticed for hearing.

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a lawyer in my firm with full authority to resolve this matter attempted in good faith to contact opposing counsel in person or by telephone on:

Before filing a discovery motion to compel or for a protective order, counsel must confer with opposing counsel in a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute.

Before filing a motion to compel pursuant to Rule 1.380, or a motion for protective order pursuant to Rule 1.180(c), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, counsel shall confer with counsel for the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the issues raised

No later than 30 days before the pre-trial conference, attorneys must meet or discuss all motions in limine to attempt to stipulate to them.

No later than 30 days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference the attorneys shall meet and/or discuss all Motions in Limine in an attempt to stipulate to any and/all possible Motions in Limine.

Counsel must confer in good faith, certify the unresolved conferral, and attach the correspondence before filing a motion to compel or for a protective order; email alone is insufficient, and noncompliance may result in striking the motion.

9. Discovery motions accompanied by good faith certification. Before filing a motion to compel pursuant to Rule 1.380, Fla. R. Civ. P., or a motion for protective order pursuant to Rule 1.280(c), counsel shall confer and correspond with counsel for the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the issues raised, and shall certify to the Court at the time of filing the motion that s/he has conferred with opposing counsel and has been unable to resolve the dispute and shall attach to the motion a copy of the correspondence with opposing counsel of the good faith effort to resolve the discovery dispute. Conferral to the Court means communication by telephone, video chat or in person discussions. E-mails, especially unanswered, alone will not suffice. The failure to comply with this paragraph may result in the Court entering an order striking, without prejudice, the discovery motion.

Before filing a motion and before the case management and pretrial conferences, counsel must make a good-faith effort to confer with opposing counsel; telephone, video chat, or in-person discussion constitutes conferral, unanswered email alone does not, and the plaintiff bears the burden to initiate.

Prior to filing any motion, prior to the case management conference, and prior to the pretrial conference, counsel shall confer and correspond with counsel for the opposing party in a good faith effort to discuss timing, delays, issues, and resolve by agreement any issues raised, and shall certify to the Court at the time of filing the motion that s/he has conferred with opposing counsel. Conferral to the Court means communication by telephone, video chat or in person discussions. E-mails, especially unanswered, alone should not suffice to show conferral attempts. The burden being on the Plaintiff to initiate conferral.

Counsel must confer with opposing counsel and submit an agreed or contested motion with a proposed order to permit a witness to appear by Zoom.

To facilitate Zoom use, confer with opposing counsel, submit an agreed or contested motion with proposed order to allow your witness to appear via zoom, and upload a proposed order granting your motion.

All motions must be submitted to the Sumter Clerk of Court and conferred upon between the parties before hearing time may be requested.

All motions must be filed with the Sumter Clerk of Court and conferred upon between the parties before seeking hearing time.

The applicable motion-practice procedures must be satisfied before requesting a hearing.

Motion Practice Procedures are followed, so please make sure you are in compliance with those procedures prior to requesting a hearing.

Every motion must be filed before a hearing on that motion is scheduled.

All motions must be filed prior to the scheduling of a hearing on same.

Counsel must obtain Court approval and contact the Judge's office before cross-noticing additional motions for a previously scheduled hearing.

Cross-noticing a hearing without the Court's approval is not permitted. If a case has been set for a hearing and opposing counsel is requesting the setting of additional motions at the previously scheduled hearing, prior to noticing these additional motions for hearing, ===== PAGE 2 ===== counsel must contact the Judge's office who will determine if sufficient time is available to have the additional motions(s) heard. Counsel will then be directed to follow the procedures to schedule the additional motion(s) for hearing.

Before filing or scheduling a motion for hearing, parties or counsel must attempt to resolve the dispute.

Parties/Counsel shall attempt to resolve any disputes prior to filing a motion or scheduling it for hearing.

All unstipulated motions in limine must be filed in accordance with the Court's motion practice procedure order.

C) ALL MOTIONS IN LIMINE THAT ARE NOT STIPULATED MUST BE FILED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COURT'S MOTION PRACTICE PROCEDURE ORDER.

Case management conferences are mandatory for attorneys and self-represented litigants unless the court excuses them in advance.

Unless excused by the court in advance, all CMCs are mandatory for attorneys and self-represented litigants.

Attorneys must attempt to resolve a discovery dispute without court intervention before filing a discovery motion.

Prior to filing a motion regarding a discovery dispute, the court expects the attorneys to attempt to resolve the issue(s) without the court’s intervention.

The parties must confer and attempt to resolve by agreement the issues raised in their in limine motions.

The parties shall confer and attempt to reach an agreement as to the issues raised in the Motion(s) in Limine filed.

A hearing is required when rule or statute mandates one, and otherwise may be held at the Court’s discretion upon an interested party’s written request.

The exceptions to this general rule are (1) when a hearing is required by rule or statute (e.g. summary judgment) and (2) at the discretion of the Court upon written request of an interested party.

In adversarial probate proceedings, parties must generally meet and confer on most motions before seeking judicial intervention.

Rules of Civil Procedure apply to all adversarial probate proceedings. This includes Rule 1.202 which requires a party to meet and confer on most motions prior to seeking judicial intervention.

A lawyer should attempt to resolve disagreements before requesting a court hearing or filing a motion to compel or for sanctions.

A lawyer should attempt to resolve disagreements before requesting a court hearing or filing a motion to compel or for sanctions.

An interested party may request oral argument in writing with the motion or opposing memorandum and must estimate the time needed; if granted, requesting counsel must help coordinate calendars, although the court may schedule the hearing itself.

The Court may permit oral argument upon the written request of any interested party or upon the Court’s own motion. Requests for oral argument must accompany the motion or opposing legal memorandum and must estimate the time required for argument. When a request for hearing is granted, counsel for the requesting party will be asked to coordinate the calendars of the Court and counsel. The Court, on its own, may schedule the hearing.

Oral argument may be permitted on the Court's own motion or written request by an interested party, but a request must accompany the motion or opposition memorandum and estimate argument time.

The Court may permit oral argument upon the written request of any interested party or upon the Court's own motion. Requests for oral argument must accompany the motion or opposing legal memorandum and must estimate the time required for argument.

Reply memoranda are prohibited and will not be considered by the Court.

NO REPLY MEMORANDUM SHALL BE PERMITTED or considered by this Court.

Failure to comply with the order may subject the party or counsel to appropriate sanctions.

***FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ORDER WILL SUBJECT THE PARTY AND/OR COUNSEL TO APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS***

Before filing a discovery-dispute motion, attorneys are expected to attempt to resolve the dispute without court intervention.

Prior to filing a motion related to a discovery dispute, the court expects the attorneys to attempt to resolve the issue(s) without the court's intervention.

Motions and applications ordinarily are decided on the papers unless a hearing is required by rule or law.

Motions and other applications will ordinarily be determined by the Court on the basis of motion papers and legal memoranda unless a hearing is required by rule or law.

A required summary-judgment hearing does not eliminate the accompanying and responsive legal memoranda required by Rule 1.510.

(For example, under Rule 1.510, Fla. R. Civ. P., summary judgment motions must be set for hearing. This would not, however, extinguish the requirement that the motion be accompanied by and responded to with memoranda taking into consideration the time frame under Rule 1.510, Fla. R. Civ. P., for filing supporting and opposing affidavits, etc.)

A hearing request should be submitted only after the parties have completed all requirements of the Motion Practice Order.

If the parties would like to request a hearing after completing all requirements of the Motion Practice Order, please follow the below instructions.

A party represented by counsel is not required to appear at the case management conference.

Parties represented by counsel are not required to appear at a CMC.

The Court ordinarily resolves motions based on the motion and legal memorandum without oral argument.

Motions will ordinarily be ruled upon by the contents of the motion and legal memorandum.

Motions will ordinarily be decided from the motion and legal memorandum without a hearing.

Motions will ordinarily be ruled upon by the contents of the motion and legal memorandum.

Motions and applications ordinarily are decided on the papers unless rule or law requires a hearing, but summary judgment motions must be set for hearing and still must be accompanied and responded to with memoranda.

11. Oral argument. Motions and other applications will ordinarily be determined by the Court on the basis of motion papers and legal memoranda unless a hearing is required by rule or law. (For example, under Rule 1.510, Fla. R. Civ. P., summary judgment motions must be set for hearing. This would not, however, extinguish the requirement that the motion be accompanied by and responded to with memoranda taking into consideration the time frame under Rule 1.510, Fla. R. Civ. P., for filing supporting and opposing affidavits, etc.)

An in limine motion ordinarily will be resolved without a hearing unless oral argument is requested and granted or the court orders otherwise.

16. In limine motions. Unless oral argument is requested and granted, or otherwise ordered by the Court, in limine motions will be resolved without a hearing.

Non-evidentiary motions, including motions to compel, extensions of time, attorney substitution or withdrawal, leave to amend, and motions to dismiss, ordinarily will be decided from the motion and legal memorandum unless a hearing is required by law.

Non-evidentiary motions will ordinarily be ruled upon by the contents of the motion and legal memorandum unless a hearing is required by law. This includes but is not limited to motions to compel, extensions of time, substitute/withdrawal of counsel, leave to amend, and motions to dismiss.

Motions and applications will ordinarily be decided on the papers unless a hearing is required by rule or law.

Motions and other applications will ordinarily be determined by the Court on the basis of motion papers and legal memoranda unless a hearing is required by rule or law.

The court strongly encourages early use of a case management conference in complex cases, multiparty litigation, and cases that might benefit from court intervention.

The court strongly encourages the early use of CMC in more complex cases, multiple-party litigation, or any case that might benefit from court intervention.