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The court auto-generates and e-serves the DCMO on the initiating party only. That party must then serve it on every defendant in the same manner and at the same time as the summons and complaint.
Circuit Civil and County Civil, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County). Procedural information only — not legal advice.
Under AO 3.110 Part 2(a): "Immediately upon the filing of a new civil case that is subject to Differentiated Case Management, a Uniform Differentiated Case Management Order and Order Setting Trial ('DCMO') … shall be automatically generated by the Court, filed, and served through the e-portal upon the party initiating the action." The service duty then shifts: "Unless exempted from DCM in Part 1, or by order of the Court, the DCMO shall be served by the party initiating the action upon each defendant/respondent in the same manner and at the same time as the summons and complaint/petition." If the automated system issues a DCMO in a case that is NOT subject to DCM, "any party may submit a proposed order vacating the DCMO with notice to all parties" — the remedy is a proposed order, not a motion.
Unless exempted from DCM in Part 1, or by order of the Court, the DCMO shall be served by the party initiating the action upon each defendant/respondent in the same manner and at the same time as the summons and complaint/petition.
Service of pleadings and documents after the initial pleading is made by e-mail — in practice through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal's e-service feature — to the designated service addresses on file.
Judge Eckley-Moulder: when an unrepresented party is in the case, the lawyer presenting a post-hearing order must give the JA stamped, addressed envelopes for service; civil hearings default to Zoom, and cancellations MUST be confirmed by the JA.
Administrative Order 2024-14 (superseding Second Amended AO 2017-03) is the circuit's process-server regime: application, certification, renewal, discipline, and the approved-server list for Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie counties.