Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, Volusia, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns Filing Rules

A creditor’s statement of claim must be verified, filed with the clerk, and state the specified claim information.

A notice of hearing must specify whether it is remote or in person, the motion’s docket number and filing date, reserved time, and Zoom Meeting ID; an in-person hearing is available only if specifically requested or necessary due to complexity.

The joint pre-trial statement must list any significant legal, procedural, or evidentiary issues for the Court to determine before or during trial.

A certificate of completion must be filed with the clerk before the court may enter a Final Judgment.

The joint pre-trial statement must list issues raised by the pleadings that are abandoned.

All communications with judicial chambers must be submitted by email to the listed address.

Email is the preferred method of communicating with the judicial office.

Email to the Judicial Assistant is the preferred method of communication with the judicial office.

All communications with judicial chambers must be sent by email to kmccoy@circuit7.org.

For hearing times other than the listed case-management, docket-sounding, and trial dates, parties should contact the judicial assistant as described in Section A.

Unless the court orders otherwise or the law requires it, the guardian need not serve the initial or annual guardianship reports on the ward.

Attorneys and self-represented litigants must make and receive service by email through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal unless excused.

Each party must serve the expert-witness notice on the other party no later than 30 days before docket sounding.

Attorneys and self-represented litigants must provide an email address for electronic receipt of signed orders unless excused.

Attorneys and self-represented litigants must provide an email address for electronic receipt of signed orders unless excused.

An objection to the resignation, petition for discharge, or final report must be filed within 30 days after service of the petition for discharge.

A hearing notice must be filed within three days after the judicial assistant confirms the hearing time, or the time may be offered to other parties.

The requesting party must immediately file a Notice of Hearing once the hearing time is confirmed.

The court must receive all hearing materials at least two business days before the hearing.

The party scheduling a hearing must file and serve the notice immediately after reserving hearing time.

Proposed orders must be in DOCX or RTF format, except that PDF is acceptable if the order is signed using DocuSign or similar technology.

Accountings may substantially conform to the model formats; the Appendix A model format is suggested, not required.

Proposed orders following a hearing, except Final Judgments of Foreclosure, must be in Microsoft Word format.

The joint pretrial items must also be emailed in Microsoft Word format to Division53@circuit7.org.

Unless instructed otherwise, attorneys and self-represented litigants need not submit physical evidence to the court or Clerk before the evidentiary hearing.

A continuance motion must be written and state the reason, whether the other party objects, and when the case is expected to be ready for trial; the requesting party must sign it unless good cause is shown.

For cause shown, the court may enlarge a specified period in its discretion, with or without notice, if the request is made before the original or previously extended period expires.

A continuance motion must be written, state its reason, the other party’s position, and when the case is expected to be trial-ready, and be signed by the requesting party unless good cause is shown.

A continuance may be requested only by motion.

A continuance request must be written, state its reason, any party’s objection, and when the case is expected to be trial-ready, and be signed by the requesting party.

All proposed orders must be e-filed through E-Portal into an existing case.

Submit orders through the e-portal, filing proposed orders as pleadings rather than using the portal's proposed-order option, unless the judge directs otherwise.

Send all proposed orders to the Court electronically by email.

File motions, proposed orders, and other filings with the Clerk through the E-portal; sending documents to chambers by email or mail does not file them, and proposed orders are not accepted by mail.

Orders must be e-filed through the e-portal, paper orders sent by mail are not accepted, and proposed orders should be emailed in Word format only upon request and after e-filing.

Courtesy copies may be delivered by email, U.S. mail, or hand delivery.

Courtesy-copy hard copies should be provided in a binder and mailed to the judge’s office.

Courtesy copies of case law are optional and may be submitted for any proceeding.

Deliver proposed foreclosure final judgments, sufficient copies for conforming, and pre-addressed stamped envelopes to the judicial office at least five business days before a foreclosure summary judgment hearing or trial.

Email one courtesy copy of the Notice of Hearing to the Judicial Assistant when it is filed.

All motions must comply with Rule 1.202 conferral requirements, including three conferral attempts; noncompliance may result in denial and cancellation of a hearing.

The parties must confer before scheduling a hearing on a motion to compel discovery.

Emergency hearings are rarely granted.

For an in-person hearing, a motion to attend by Zoom must be heard and granted by an order before the underlying hearing date.

Counsel, not staff, must comply with the conferral requirements in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202.

When assets exceed $5,000, the institution holding them must use the vulnerable adult’s unencumbered assets to pay a $200 filing fee to the clerk.

Parties may be referred to mediation after the pretrial conference, and the service is free.

Costs must be paid to the Clerk to issue a witness subpoena and to the Sheriff to serve it.

The E-filing portal option for filing documents directly into a case is free of charge.

Each application carries a $50 fee payable to the Clerk within 7 days; an unpaid fee will be added to costs assessed at the conclusion of the case.

File each document individually under a specific title; do not combine multiple motions or proposed orders into one document or attach a proposed order to a motion.

The parties should seek to file all exhibits jointly, but in the absence of a joint filing, must file uni- laterally at least 2 calendar days in advance.

If the guardians of the property and person are different, they must make a good-faith effort to file the initial guardianship report jointly.

Responses or memoranda in opposition to motions are limited to 20 pages unless the Court grants leave.

Responses and memoranda opposing motions are limited to 20 typewritten pages unless the Court grants leave.

Petitioners should protect confidential information and minimize sensitive information in the petition for an injunction.