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30 verbatim requirements from Fourth Circuit administrative order 2021-09.
Fourth Judicial Circuit (Duval). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from Fourth Circuit administrative order 2021-09 as published by the Duval County Clerk, harvested 2026-07-25; whitespace normalised only. • Communicate to the local Bar that lawyers must strictly comply with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.545(a), which requires lawyers to conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and justly possible to do so, and that the pandemic alone is not a basis for a lawyer’s failure to prepare a case for 4 trial or otherwise actively manage a case.” • The parties shall confer and plaintiff shall e-file the appropriate, pre-signed Case • Management Order (CMO)' within 30 days of service of the complaint on the first defendant. - ‘ • The CMO shall designate whether the case is complex, streamlined, or general as defined in this Order. • A streamlined civil case shall be defined as an action that can be tried" in less than two days. • It must also specify deadlines by which fact and expert discovery shall be completed, when all objections to pleadings and pretrial motions- shall be resolved, and when mediation shall -have occurred. • The CMO shall also specify the projected date of trial, indicate the deadlines established in the order will be strictly enforced by the court, indicate that a trial date will be ordered by the presiding judge when the case is at-issue pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.440, and address any other matters required by the Chief Judge. .- I _ - ' . t • The maximum periods for the deadlines in streamlined and general cases when a jury is demanded, are as follows: ' ‘ ' (a) Plaintiff shall have 120 days from the date of filing the complaint to serve all • Extensions for service of the complaint shall be allowed upon a showing of good cause. . ' . • (b) Tlieparties shall file the CMO within 30 days of service of the complaint on the first • (c) The parties shall .give notice of any potential additional parties within 90 days of the date of the CMO. ~ ' (d)_ All objections and motions directed to pleadings shall be resolved within 120 days of the date of the CMO. . • (e) Additional parties shall be added within 180 days of the date of the CMO unless good cause is demonstrated. . ' ' ' 2 -- 2 of 16 -- • (i) Fact discovery, including depositions of fact witnesses, shall be completed within 12 months of the date of the CMO. ' - . .(g) Expert discovery, including expert depositions, shall be completed within 12 months of the date of the CMO. .' . • (h) All pretrial. motions shall be resolved before the pretrial conference. • (i) Mediation shall have occurred within 15 months of the date of the CMO. - (1') The projected trial date for this matter is 18 months from the date of filing the _ complaint. . • (a) Plaintiff shall have 120 days from the date of filing the Complaint. to serve all • Extensions for service of the complaint shall be allowed upon a sho_wing - of good cause. - - (b) The parties shall file the CMO within 30 days of service of the complaint on the first • Defendant. ' " (c) The parties shall give notice of any potential additional parties" within'60 days of the date of the CMO.- _ _ (d) All objections and motions directed to pleadings shalllbe resolved within $0 days of p the date of the CMO. ' ' ' . • (e) Additional parties shall be added within 12(l days'of the date of the CMO unless good cause is demonstrated. ' ' ' ' (f) Fact discovery, including depositions of fact witnesses shall be completed within 8 months of the date of the CMO. _ - __ ‘ . • (g) Expert discovery, including expert depositions shall be completed within 8 months of the date of the CMO.- - ' . • (h) All pretrial motions shall be resolved before the pretrial conference. i (i) Mediation shall have occurred within 10 months of the date of the CMO. _ (j). • The Plaintiff shall promptly notify the presiding judge if the case is settled. • All other c_ivil cases require compliance. .This Administrative Order shall be recorded by the Clerk of the Court, in the Official .Records of Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties in the State of Florida, shall take effect immediately, and shall remain in full force and effect until further order of this Court. • Having conferred and designated this case as complex pursuant to Administrative Order No. l _ 2021-09, the parties shall comply with Florida Rule of Procedure 1.201. _ i - ~11 is ORDERED: " - _ • 1.' The parties shall transmit a copy of the Case Management Order to the assigned judge's judicial assistant. v ' • Plaintiff shall schedule an initial Complex Case Management Conference within 60 days of the filing of this Order to determine whether this case meets the criteria of • Plaintiff shall promptly notify the Court if the case is settled. 1 -- 5 of 16 -- • Having conferred and designated this case as complex pursuant to Administrative Order No. 2021-09, the parties shall comply with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.201, - • The parties shall transmit a copy of the Case Management Order to the assigned judge’s ' judicial assistant. ' ' ' • Plaintiff shall schedule with the Court an initial Complex Case Management
Communicate to the local Bar that lawyers must strictly comply with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.545(a), which requires lawyers to conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and justly possible to do so, and that the pandemic alone is not a basis for a lawyer’s failure to prepare a case for 4 trial or otherwise actively manage a case.”
Reviewer note: Order PDF sha256: 636817ffb8e31c2b0a4b127993bdfcaf2c21d940aba236631bdb9da7d2d652a2. Extracted from the order's own text layer. Identity confirmed by the document's /Title.
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.