Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Pasco and Pinellas Counties Filing Rules

A party seeking exclusion of expert evidence must file a motion identifying the specific grounds for the challenge.

A separate cover letter must accompany the proposed trial orders uploaded to JAWS.

A motion to compel discovery must quote in full each discovery item addressed by the motion and the opposing party's objection and grounds.

A motion to compel discovery must quote in full each discovery item at issue and the opposing party’s stated objection and grounds.

Proposed orders and judgments may contain no blanks for judicial completion except the date the judge signs; containing other blanks prevents signature.

Expert discovery must be completed 30 days before the pretrial conference.

The opposing party or counsel has 15 days after service of both the motion and notice to file an opposing argument and legal memorandum with citations.

A motion not scheduled for a hearing within 30 days after filing is deemed abandoned.

A motion must be filed before requesting hearing time.

All case law anticipated to be argued must be emailed to section9@jud6.org three days before the hearing.

If JAWS does not offer sufficiently prompt hearing time for an impending trial or deadline, counsel should email the Judicial Assistant, state the amount of time needed, and coordinate with opposing counsel when time is offered.

A hearing longer than 30 minutes must be scheduled by emailing section15@jud6.org and copying opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

All parties must be copied on emails to the judicial office unless an ex parte communication is authorized by law.

Email Section13@jud6.org is the preferred method of communication to the court.

The Judicial Assistant may be emailed at Section19@jud6.org to obtain Word-format scheduling templates when they cannot be copied from the document.

Discovery requiring an adverse party’s response must be served sufficiently early for the response to be due before the discovery deadline.

The submitting party must serve any party without an email service address by U.S. mail.

The Court requests that all responses be filed and served so that the Court may properly prepare for the hearing.

A party must provide opposing counsel and the judge with any original or color photo or document at least five days before the hearing.

A copy of an emergency motion must be emailed to the Judicial Assistant with all parties copied.

Proposed orders may be submitted through JAWS for electronic signature or by U.S. Mail.

All necessary documents for hearings must be filed electronically.

Case law may be e-filed through the Clerk's e-portal under a Notice of Filing.

A Notice of Hearing must not be electronically filed or emailed to the Judicial Assistant until the request has been approved in JAWS.

In an uncontested dissolution-of-marriage final hearing, a party may submit a proposed final judgment for the judge to sign during the hearing.

Documents submitted through JAWS must be uploaded in PDF format.

The cover letter, (with any motion, stipulation and exhibits) should be uploaded in the Include Cover Letter section as one pdf file.

Exhibits must be labeled using the specified party-and-number format.

Documents uploaded for agreed orders must be submitted in PDF format.

The physical courthouse address must not appear on a telephonic Notice of Hearing.

The parties may extend a deadline by submitting an agreed order or may file a motion under Rule 1.200(e)(3)(A)-(D) to extend a deadline, modify the Order, or alter the projected trial period.

A motion to continue trial requires client signature absent very good cause and requires a hearing even if counsel stipulates to it.

Continuance motions are disfavored and granted only upon a showing of good cause; successive requests are highly disfavored and lack of due diligence does not justify relief.

A motion to continue trial must be signed by the client, and the Judicial Assistant must be informed whether opposing counsel objects.

Continuance motions are disfavored, successive continuances are highly disfavored, and a continuance requires good cause; lack of due diligence is not a ground for relief.

An attorney filing an emergency motion must contact the judge’s office and provide the judge with a copy because the clerk does not forward emergency motions to the judge’s office.

If the case settles, please email the Judicial Assistant to cancel any hearings or Trial that may be scheduled and file a Notice of Cancellation of Hearing and send a courtesy copy to the Judicial Assistant so it can be removed from the calendar.

Attorneys and self-represented litigants must bring sufficient copies of each exhibit for the clerk, court, witness, and each party.

If documents, including memoranda with exhibits, exceed 20 pages, a hard copy or binder must be provided to the court by U.S. mail, FedEx, UPS, or hand delivery.

A courtesy copy of the Notice of Cancellation of Hearing should be sent to the Judicial Assistant.

Attorneys must attempt conferral by telephone, and an unanswered email does not satisfy the conferral requirement.

Except for motions in limine, motions generally must be filed and heard before the Pre-Trial Conference, with good-cause motions heard at or after that conference.

A motion requesting a hearing lasting one hour or more requires a short case management conference.

Counsel will confer before that hearing so that only items actually in dispute will be put before the Judge.

Withdrawal of counsel requires a motion and hearing unless the request is accompanied by a stipulation signed by the client and all counsel.

Sensitive information should be redacted before the hearing and before submission to the clerk.

A copy of the motion to be heard and any response shall be provided with the case law (highlighted) in an organized fashion via mail or courier to the court prior to the hearing.