Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, Miami-Dade County Filing Rules

Attorneys delivering courtesy copies of documents or media must affirm in writing whether the copies are duplicates of what was filed with the Clerk.

Orders affecting the confidentiality/sealing of court records must comply with Rule 2.420 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration and the attached sample orders.

A party requesting a special set hearing may request either a live or Zoom hearing.

Emergency motions must be uploaded to CourtMAP and chambers must be emailed after filing to advise of the emergency.

Original loan documents must not be delivered in advance of a hearing or trial unless instructed by the Court; if instructed, deliver only to chambers room 1017, not the clerk's office.

Emails to the Judicial Assistant must copy all parties.

The Judicial Assistant is Paula Lopez and she can be reached at palopez@jud11.flcourts.org.

Motions to stay writs of possession, and claims of exemption on garnishment where the plaintiff objects, are treated as emergency motions.

Chambers staff (Judicial Assistant and Court Specialist) may be contacted by email at jcordoba@jud11.flcourts.org and lgayle@jud11.flcourts.org.

Judicial Assistant Miosotiys M. Alba's email address is malba@jud11.flcourts.org.

For in-person trials, parties must not file any exhibits.

When requesting Zoom conversion of a hearing, the moving party must upload the Order onto courtMAP.

All parties, including self-represented parties, must register for and use the Florida Court E-Filing Portal as the sole method to file and receive pleadings and court notices.

Small claims pre-trial conference waivers must be submitted as Agreed Orders through CourtMAP.

When a motion is granted or the mortgagee prevails at trial, the Final Judgment must be uploaded via courtMAP.

Special set hearings must be scheduled at least 7 days in advance unless prior approval is received.

Truncated fragment of subdivision J(2) indicating a 30-day period applicable to the clerk's posted notice of a confidentiality order; the beginning of the provision is missing from the source text.

Motions and supporting documents must be uploaded via CourtMAP at least 7 days before the hearing or the matter will not be heard.

At least five (5) business days prior to evidentiary hearing or non-jury trial (Civil or Foreclosure), all exhibits should be pre-marked for identification and shall include an index listing all proposed exhibits with the exhibit numbers or letters and filed as evidence submissions via portal.

Motions must be set for hearing within 30 days of filing, or they may be deemed abandoned or waived.

Witness lists and exhibits must be exchanged within seven calendar days before an evidentiary hearing, or within 24 hours for an emergency hearing.

Any email sent to the Judicial Assistant must include a copy to all parties.

Opposing counsel must be provided with the same cover letter and hearing notebook/memorandum items delivered to the Court.

All communications to the Court must include the opposing party or their attorney and any other necessary parties such as a Guardian Ad Litem or Assistant State Attorney.

Original loan documents must be delivered to the Clerk's office before the hearing and must never be sent to chambers.

Evidentiary hearings are in-person by default; Zoom requires written consent of all parties or, absent consent, leave of court via a written good-cause motion with a 15-minute hearing held before the evidentiary hearing.

Parties must meet and confer before filing a motion, and the filing party must report the outcome or due-diligence inability to contact the other party.

All parties must comply with Rule 1.202 conferral before filing motions.

A filed motion will not be considered unless it is set for hearing, and the Court may strike motions that are not timely set.

Parties must meet and confer before filing motions, and the filing party must state that no resolution was reached or that the other party could not be contacted despite due diligence.

Courtesy copies may be provided by email to the Judicial Assistant and cover opposing counsel. NOTE: The Clerk of Court does not provide Judge Ferrer or Staff with copies of Motions which counsel submits through e-filing.

Because the Clerk's Office does not forward e-filed motions to the judge, counsel MUST provide courtesy copies of motions directly to Judge Altfield by hand-delivery, facsimile, or email to F020@jud11.flcourts.org.

Courtesy copies of motions must be provided to the Judge by e-mail, fax, or hand delivery because the Clerk's Office does not forward filed motions to the Judge.

Counsel must add the division email F006@jud11.flcourts.org to their service list so Chambers receives email copies of e-filed motions, since the Clerk's Office does not provide them.

Suppression motions must be filed with the Clerk with a copy sent to chambers, after which the judicial assistant will calendar the case so the parties can select a special set hearing date and time.

Trial continuance motions must be filed at least 2 weeks before the calendar call and scheduled for hearing before the calendar call.

Extension motions must include a timeframe for the requested extension and be set for hearing on the motion calendar within 30 days, or they may be denied.

Issues arising after the sounding (outstanding discovery, trial readiness, late witnesses or motions) will be handled the day of trial, and parties must not request an earlier hearing date.

Continuance motions for calendar call must be filed in writing and uploaded to CourtMAP in compliance with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.460.

Motions to alter a trial date must be set for hearing and heard before calendar call.

To schedule a hearing longer than one hour, pick two consecutive half-hour slots equaling one hour.

Special set hearing submissions in courtMAP must comply with the listed formatting requirements.

Motions and memoranda submitted for specially set hearings must be double-spaced.

The e-mail should also include the motion seeking to be heard and a proposed Order, in Microsoft Word format.

Motion-calendar hearings are limited to five minutes per case.

The court prefers supporting documentation to be submitted in the same document as the motion for efficiency.

When setting a motion on the CourtMap Motion Calendar, the motion and any responses with an e-file stamp must be attached as supporting documents.

Only one motion may be scheduled per motion calendar slot or the hearing may be canceled.

The filed motion(s) and all supporting documents must be attached when the hearing is scheduled in CourtMap.

Proposed/agreed order submissions must be accompanied by the motion and all supporting documents.

Court administrative memoranda and advisory opinions are confidential when necessary to protect a compelling governmental interest, the confidentiality must be no broader than necessary, and the confidentiality decision is made by the chief judge.

For settlements with confidentiality agreements, a responsible party must be designated to seek and obtain sealing of the limited confidential documentation in the court file under Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.420(d).

Motions to seal/expunge must be filed with the Clerk with all supporting documentation and a copy provided to chambers.

Motions must be no more than 25 pages, double spaced, with 1 inch margins and 12 pt New Times Roman font; responses must be no more than 20 pages.

Motions and memoranda for specially set hearings are limited to 20 pages (excluding exhibits); exceeding the limit requires a separate motion and proposed order for leave of court.

A case may have no more than 15 minutes and three motions total on the five-minute motion calendar.

Each case on the Motion Calendar is limited to a five-minute hearing.

Motions and memoranda are limited to 20 pages, excluding exhibits, and leave of court must be obtained before submitting any that exceed the limit.

Transcripts of General Magistrate hearings must be arranged directly with the vendor Absolute Digital Inc. at the requesting party's expense.

A final invoice for the audio recording must be paid before the recording will be released.

A final invoice for the audio recording (per Rule 2.420 review) must be paid before the recording is released.

The required forms packet is available from the Clerk's Office at a cost not to exceed $35.00, subject to good-cause waiver of the procedures by the Administrative or Associate Administrative Judge.

A final invoice for the audio recording must be paid before the recording will be released.