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40 verbatim requirements from admin. order AO 1.15 - Court-Ordered Arbitration In Circuit and County Civil Cases (6/12/13) [Civil].
20th Judicial Circuit. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from https://www.ca.cjis20.org/pdf/ao/ao_1_15.pdf, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department shall create a list of persons qualified to serve as arbitrators, which shall be maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department. • To be qualified as an arbitrator, a person must be a member of the Florida Bar for five (5) years and must comply with the qualification and training requirements set forth in Rules • Written procedures for becoming a court-appointed arbitrator shall be maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department. • Mediation/Arbitration Department, to obtain an application and shall deliver a completed application to the Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department. • Upon review of the application, the Chief Judge or the Chief Judge's designee, shall determine ifthe applicant is qualified and, if so, shall add the applicant to the list of qualified arbitrators. • The list of qualified arbitrators shall be designated as the Twentieth Judicial Circuit's List of Qualified • Arbitrators and shall be made available to all judges of the circuit. • N -- 2 of 7 -- the parties, an arbitrator (or arbitrators) shall be selected by the presiding Judge, or the presiding • Judge shall enter an "Order/Referral to Nonbinding Arbitration," which shall (1) establish a deadline for conducting the arbitration, (2) afford the parties ten days to select a mutually acceptable arbitrator(s), (3) establish Plaintiffs counsel as lead attorney for the purpose of coordinating, scheduling and providing notice of the arbitration, (4) provide instructions as to how the parties are to proceed if they do not agree to an arbitrator(s), and (5) provide notice to all parties of the procedures applicable to the arbitration hearing. • If the parties do not agree to an arbitrator(s), Plaintiffs counsel shall provide written notification to the Court and to the • The arbitration hearing shall be conducted in the county in which the action is pending, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. • Arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of practice and procedure adopted by the Supreme Court of Florida, in accordance with al! laws of the State of Florida, in accordance with all orders and directives as may be approved by the Chief Judge, and in accordance with the written procedures maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts' • Twentieth Judicial Circuit's List of Qualified Arbitrators, shall be on file in the Administrative • Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department, and shall be posted on the official website for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. • Arbitrators in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit conducting court-ordered non-binding arbitration shall be compensated at a rate which shall not exceed $200.00 per hour, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, and shall be entitled to a minimum fee of $400.00, even ifthe arbitration hearing does not exceed one hour. • At a minimum, $200.00 for the first hour of arbitration shall be paid to each arbitrator no later than ten (10) days prior to commencement of the arbitration hearing; the balance, if any, shall be paid at the conclusion of said hearing. • However, if any party cancels with less than 48 hours notice or fails to appear, each arbitrator shall be entitled to the $400.00 minimum fee, and the party or parties who cancelled or failed to appear shall be responsible for the cost. • However, prior to approving the use of state funds to reimburse an arbitrator, the Judge must ensure that the party reimburses the portion of the total cost that the party is immediately able to pay and that the party has agreed to a payment plan established by the Clerk of the Court that will fully reimburse the state for the balance of all state costs for both the arbitrator and any costs of administering the payment plan and any collection efforts that may be necessary in the future. • C> .._j -- 4 of 7 -- instances when a party is found to be indigent, qualified individuals who have volunteered their time to serve as arbitrators shall be appointed. • To the extent that any provision of this Administrative Order may be construed as being in conflict with any law, statute, or rule, the law, statute, or rule shall prevail. • The following procedures shall apply to non-binding arbitration. • (1) Cases referred to arbitration shall be assigned to an arbitrator or to a panel of arbitrators. • In the absences of an agreement by the parties as to the designation of the arbitrator(s), the Court shall determine the number of arbitrators and designate the arbitrators. • In the case of a panel, one of the arbitrators shall be appointed or designated as the chief arbitrator. • (2) The arbitration fees shall be equally divided and paid by the parties. "At no time may an arbitrator charge more than $1,500.00 per diem, unless all of the parties agree otherwise." • (3) All parties, including non-counsel representatives of corporate parties with full authority to settle the matter, must attend the arbitration hearing. • If insurance is involved, whether or not named as a party, the insurance company shall have a representative present with full authority to resolve the case. • Parties may be represented by counsel; however, counsel shall not be considered a representative of the party for purposes of this section. • If a party fails to attend the scheduled hearing, the chief arbitrator may proceed with the hearing, and the arbitrator(s) shall render a decision based upon the facts and circumstances as presented by the parties present. • (4) The parties shall submit case surmnaries to each arbitrator at least 10 days prior to the hearing. • (5) "[The] arbitrator or, in the case of a panel, the chief arbitrator, shall have such power to administer oaths or affirmations and to conduct the proceedings as the rules of court shall provide. • Presentation of testimony shall be kept to a minimum and facts and issues shall be presented to the arbitrator(s) primarily through documents and the statements and arguments of counsel." Florida Statutes, Section 44.l 03(4). • (7) Arbitration shall be completed within 30 days of the first arbitration hearing unless extended by Order of the Court on motion of the Chief Arbitrator or of a party. • No extension of time shall be for a period exceeding 60 days from the date of the first arbitration hearing. • Upon the completion of the arbitration process, the arbitrator(s) shall render a decision. • In the case of a panel, a decision shall be by a majority vote of the panel. 6 0 .G!i' @II - 0 0 "-1 • (9) Within 10 days of the final adjournment of the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator(s) shall provide the parties with a written decision pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section 44.103(5). • The original written decision and the original of any transcripts shall be sealed and filed with the Clerk at the time the parties are notified of the decision. • 44.103(5). "An arbitration decision shall be final if a request for trial de novo is not filed within the time provide by the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court ... • If no request for trial de novo is made within the time provided, the decision shall be referred to the presiding judge, who shall enter such orders and judgments as may be required to carry out the terms of the decision."
Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department shall create a list of persons qualified to serve as arbitrators, which shall be maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts' Mediation/Arbitration Department.
Reviewer note: Order PDF sha256: 02d8b116fe082512c5c27f6d83630aec10e78b0195e9710f4f9e35da2ef39fa6. Extracted from the order's own text layer.
Judge Bell caps motions and responses at 5 pages for UMC hearings and 12 pages for special-set hearings.
Judge Alijewicz requires every motion for attorney's fees and/or costs to attach a document detailing time records — no records, no fee award.
Judge Corlew bars informal contact: every communication with the Court must be in writing, filed with the Clerk, with copies furnished to all parties — and no calls to the JA to schedule or cancel UMC.